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"
MONOGRAPH
OF THE
BUCEROTID.E
OR
FAMILY OF THE HORNBILLS.
BY
DANIEL GIRAUD ELLIOT,
COMMANDER OF THE EOYAL OEDEES OF THE CROWN OF ITALY, OF FEEDEEIC OF WURTEMBERG, AND OF CHAELES THE THIED OF SPAIN;
KNIGHT OF THE IMPEEIAL AND EOYAL OEDEES OF FEANCIS JOSEPH OF AUSTEIA, OF THE DANNEBEOG OF DENMARK, •
OF THE ALBEET OEDEE OF SAXONY, OF ST. MAUEICE AND ST. LAZARE OF ITALY, OF ISABELLA THE CATHOLIC OF SPAIN,
OF CHEIST OF PORTUGAL, OF PHILIP THE MAGNANIME OF HESSE, ETC. ETC.
FELLOW OF THE EOYAL SOCIETY OF EDINBUEGH, OF THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON.
MEMBER OF THE IMPERIAL LEOPOLDINO-CAEOLINA ACADEMY OF GERMANY, OF THE ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES OF PHILADELPHIA,
OF THE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF NEW YOEK, OF THE BRITISH ORNITHOLOGISTS' UNION, OF THE SOCIETE d'aCCLIMATATION OF PARIS,
OF THE SOCIETE ZOOLOGIQUE OF FRANCE, OF THE NEW- YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY ;
HONORARY MEMBER OF THE NUTTALL ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB ; CORRESPONDING MEMBER OF THE ROYAL ACADEMY
OF SCIENCES OF LISBON, OF THE NATURAL- HISTORY SOCIETY OF BOSTON, ETC. ETC.
AUTHOR OF THE
' NEW AND HERETOFORE UNFiaURED BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA,'
OP THE ILLUSTRATED MONOGRAPHS OP THE
PITTID.E, TETRAONIN.E, PARADISEID^, PHASIANID.E, FELID^, &c. &c.
PUBLISHED EOR THE SUBSCRIBERS BY THE AUTHOR.
1882.
-.„." . . - "
r*r*i
FLAMMAM.
PEINTED BY TATIOE AND FKANCIS,
RED LION COURT, FLEET STREET.
dannnmmiMaaMi
(c><\Q>
I
TO
#skri §wWm, $sq„ Jf.|Lji., «k,
THIS
MONOGRAPH OF THE BUCEROTID^l
S DEDICATED,
AS A MAKE OF ESTEEM FOE HIS ABILITIES AS AN OENITHOLOGIST,
AND IN TESTIMONY OP
A FRIENDSHIP OF MANY YEARS.
J^^FMWIWrW
*HWIWWffWF^>3g,* ,* m-m
1,11 T^
PREFACE
Could an interest in any ornithological group only be created by the beauty of dress
or gracefulness of form of its various members, it might possibly happen that the
BucEROTiDiE would not be selected as the subject for an illustrated monograph; and
while their full value is always accorded to these attributes, perhaps occasionally even
in an exaggerated degree, yet as Nature never made an ugly object (even the most
repulsive thing so called being admirably and wonderfully fitted for the place it is
destined to fill in life), beauty of plumage and symmetry of form are by no means
the only causes that lead a naturalist to choose any one group as an especial object
for study. The very peculiar appearance of the majority of the birds contained in
this volume, as well as the extraordinary habits and structure common to all, which
make them to differ from other feathered creatures, together with the generally
meagre accounts of many of the species, only to be met with by searching numerous
publications, were the chief reasons that induced me to select this family as the subject
of my fifth illustrated monograph.
Scattered as the species are over many countries, it has not fallen to the lot of
any one ornithologist to observe all of them in their native haunts ; but beside what
could be gathered from published accounts, to be found in various journals written
in many languages, I have been most kindly aided by those who have enjoyed
opportunities of observing certain species in the localities where the birds dwell.
Although in the various articles accompanying the species in the body of this work
I have endeavoured to express my thanks to those who have in any way helped me,
I would nevertheless take this opportunity to repeat them, apologizing at the same time
to any one of my friends whose name I may inadvertently omit. To Mr. A. O. Hume,
who has at all times in the most generous manner given me the benefit of his extensive
knowledge of the Indian species, and incurred the expense of a special expedition to
procure for this work specimens of Anorrhinus tickelli, of which no example
b
m^w.w.^w wmw »«.ihhe j
VI
PREFACE.
existed in any European museum, I am under particular obligations. The late Marquis
of Tweeddale, in whose sudden death this science sustained a grievous loss, was always
ready to aid me by the loan of specimens from his magnificent collection, otherwise
unobtainable, and by any other assistance it was in his power to bestow. To my
friends Osbert Salvin, Esq., Dr. Sclater, Prof. Bocage, Captain Ramsay, R. B. Sharpe,
Esq., Captain Shelley, Prof, Cabanis, Prof. Schlegel, Mons. A. von Bemmelin, Prof. A.
Milne-Edwards, and Mons. Oustelet I desire to acknowledge my indebtedness for
assistance on many different occasions:
The drawings, the happy results of Mr. Keuleman's talented pencil, most
characteristically depict the strange forms and attitudes of these curious birds.
The colouring of the Plates has been successfully accomplished by Mr. Smith ; while
the letterpress by Messrs. Taylor and Francis leaves nothing to be desired, and the
printing of the Plates by Messrs. M. and N. Hanhart has been most carefully executed.
The length of time during which the publication of the various Parts has extended
was caused by circumstances entirely beyond my control ; but I w r ould especially
express my thanks to those who have honoured my work with their support, and
patiently awaited its completion. D. G. E.
..-.:-;-.i-:^. ; ' '.- ,■■"".-. £*v
INTRODUCTION.
The Bucerotidae, or Hornbills, on account of the large size of many of the species, together
with their apparently unwieldy and curiously formed casques, are very conspicuous among the
families which constitute the class Aves. Their habits are no less uncommon than is their
aspect ; and the unique one possessed by the males of enclosing the female in the hollow of some
tree, firmly fastening her in by a wall of mud, and keeping her a close prisoner until the eggs
are hatched, is not paralleled by the customs of any other species of birds known to naturalists.
Another curious habit is that of casting up the entire epithelial lining of the gizzard in the
form of a sac or pocket, filled with undigested particles of food or hardened objects that may
have been swallowed. Owls, as is well known, eject little round pellets, composed of the fur
and bones of the small mammals upon which they have fed ; but these are not accompanied, as a
rule, by any portion of the bird's internal structure. The Hornbills, however, apparently suffer
no inconvenience from the deprivation of their gizzard's walls ; and an individual has been
observed to quietly investigate with the point of his bill the contents of one of these sacs,
which he had just cast forth, and which he would have probably swallowed again had not the
bag been removed. In the present Monograph I have endeavoured — first, to review the
literature of the Family from the time of Linnaeus to the present day ; secondly, to recapitulate
the various genera which from time to time have been proposed for the different species ; thirdly,
to discuss the classification and geographical distribution of the various distinct forms ; and,
fourthly, to give the synonymy and life-history of each one, so far as these are known to me.
In the arrangement that I have thus proposed, the first subject that presents itself is the
Bibliography of the Family, of which I commence the review with the twelfth edition of
Linnaeus's ' Systema Naturae,' published in 1766.
1766. Linn^us, Systema Naturae.
In this edition the great systematist has recorded the species of this family known to him,
retaining them all in the genus Buceros. Four only are mentioned, viz. B. BICOUNIS,
B. HYDBOCOBAX (=PLANICOENIS, Merrem, HYDEOCOEAX having been established
as a genus by Brisson), B. BHINOCEEOS, and B. NASUTUS. All these are recognized at
the present day. Species 4.
viii
INTRODUCTION.
1781. J. E. Forster, Indische Zoologie.
In this publication, of the zoological portion of which Thomas Pennant is ostensibly the author
(but which is probably Pennant's list of English names latinized by Forster), six species of
Hornbills are given. They are B. bicornis, Linn., hydrocorax, Linn., rhinoceros, Linn.,
VIGIL and PLICATUS, named for the first time, and rostratus. This last is referred to
Willughby's ' Ornithology;' but as no plate or page is specified, it is impossible to ascertain what
bird may have been intended. Although some of the species had been previously described by
Linnaeus, the fact appears to have been unknown to Forster, as Edwards, Willughby, and
Dampier are the only authors cited. Species 6.
1783. Boddaert, Tableaux des Planches Enluminees de d'Aubenton.
Pounding his species upon the plates of Bufibn's work, to which he gives Latin names, the
present author records four species not before noticed. They are B. COBONATUS, B. PANINI,
B. MANILLA, and B. ABYSSINICUS ; all valid. Species 10.
1786. Scopoli, Deliciae Florae et Faunae Insubricse.
Three species of Hornbills are given in this work, one of which is recorded for the first time,
viz. B. BIBOSTBJS, which is the ginginianus of authors. The remaining two are B. panayensis,
(=panini, Bodd.) and B. pica (=B. coronatus, Bodd.). Species 11.
1788. Gmelin, edition of Linnseus's * Systema Naturee.'
Twelve species are enumerated by Gmelin, only one, however, for the first time. They are
bicornis, abyssinicus, africanus (= abyssinicus, Bodd.), MALABABICUS (first distinguished as
distinct from coronatus, Bodd.), Jiydrocorax (=planicornis, Merrem), rhinoceros, galeatus
(=vigil, Forst), panayensis (=panini, Bodd.), manillensis (=manill^, Bodd.), nasutus, alius
(an albino of some bird not belonging to this family), and obscurus (=plicatus, Forst.).
Species 12.
1790. Latham, Index Ornithologicus.
Sixteen species of Hornbills are here given, only one named for the first time. Nine are
valid, the remainder either impossible to determine with certainty, or synonymous with other
previously described species. They are B. rhinoceros, B. galeatus (=vigil, Forst,), bicornis,
abyssinicus, africanus (=abyssinicijs, Bodd.), malabarictts, Jiydrocorax (=planicornis,
Merrem), panayensis (=panini, Bodd.), manillensis (=manill^, Bodd.), nasutus, plicatus,
ginginianus (=birostris, Scop.), GBISEUS, named for the first time, and albus 3 orientalis, and
viridis not of this family. Species 13.
1793. Lichtenstein, Catalogus rerum naturalium rarissimarum auctionis lege distrahendarum
Hamburgi.
TOCKUS MELANOLEUCUS is here described. Species 14.
INTRODUCTION.
IX
1801. Le Vaillant, Histoire Naturelle d'Oiseaux Nouveaux et Bares de l'Anierique et des
Indes.
In this work ten different Hornbills are given, illustrated by twenty-three plates of heads
and figures of the entire bird. The nomenclature is French; and so some species represented here
for the first time were characterized afterwards by other writers under Latin names. The species
given are :-— bicornis, Linn.; planicornis, Merrem; coronatijs, Bodd. ; sylvestris, Vieill. ; mala-
baricus, Gmel. ; birostris, Scopoli; panini, Bodd. ; plicatus, Eorst. ; and gingalensis, Shaw.
1806. Le Vaillant, Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux d'Afrique.
As in the preceding work, the author employs French names. Nine species are mentioned,
illustrated by plates ; but the opportunity was lost for giving any of them a specific rank in the
science.
1808. "Wilkes ?, Encyclopaedia Londinensis.
In this publication, of which in the octavo edition five volumes are devoted to prnithology,
numerous species figured by Le Vaillant in his different works have Latin names given to them,
some for the first time ; and did we but know the author, they would take precedence of all those
subsequently bestowed upon the species. No author's name, however, having been given,
unfortunately none of the appellations can be recognized. It is unnecessary, therefore, to
make further reference to the list.
1811. Shaw, General Zoology.
A list of the species as known to the author is given, compiled chiefly from Latham and
Le Vaillant, and Latin names affixed to those previously only recognized by French or English
appellations. Twenty-five in all are noticed, only fourteen of which are valid. B. mala-
baricus, Gmelin, is twice renamed, as B. monoceros and B. albirostris ; B. coronatus, Bodd.,
is called B. molaceus ; B. bicornis, Linn., is styled B. cavatus ; B. UNDLLATUS is described
for the first time; B.javanicus (=undtjlatus); B. melanoleucus, Licht., is named B. coronatus ;
B. GINGALENSIS and B. EASCIATUS are given for the first time. Species 17.
1811. Bechstein, Kurze Ilebersicht aller bekannten Vogel.
A catalogue of seventeen species of Buceros is given, with descriptions. Eour are not valid,
viz. B. africanus (=:Abyssinicits, Bodd.), B. alius, B. orientalis, and B. viridis (ex Latham) not
belonging to this family. No new species are described.
1816. Vieillot, Nouveau Dictionnaire d'Histoire Naturelle.
In the fourth volume of this work is a list of the then known species, two of which are
described for the first time, viz. the Javan form of B. rhinoceros, founded upon the Calao a
casque en croissant of Le Vaillant, and called B. SYLVESTBIS, and B. LEUCOCEPHALUS.
B. PLICATUS, Eorst., is renamed twice, as B. ruficollis and B. niger ; B. bicornis, Linn., is called
c
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x INTRODUCTION.
B. cristatus ; B. jubatus and B. orient alls from New Holland are not Hornbills ; and B. ruber
and B. viridis are copied from Latham and do not belong to this family ; B. coronatus, Bodd.,
is styled B. violaceus after Shaw; B. melanoleucus, Licht., is called B. coronatus, and
B. fasciatus, Shaw, is renamed B. melanoleucus-, B. vigil, Eorst., is called B. galeatus after
Latham. The valid species recorded by this author are : — abyssinicus, Bodd. ; vigil, Eorst. ;
plicatus, Eorst. ; undulatus, Shaw (as Le calao javan); SYLVESTRIS and LEUCOCEPHALTJS,
described for the first time ; melanoleucus, Licht. ; birostris, Scop, (as ginginianus, Lath.) ;
griseus, Lath, (referred to New Holland, a wrong habitat) ; panini, Bodd. (as manillensis, Lath.) ;
hydrocorax, Linn. (=planicornis, Merr.) ; bicornis, Linn. ; rhinoceros, Linn. ; coronatus,
Bodd. (as violaceus, Vieill.), and gingalensis, Shaw (as gingala, Vieill.). All Linnseus's names
are referred to Latham, he being apparently the most ancient author consulted. Species 19.
1820-39. Temminck, Planches Coloriees.
A monograph of this family as then known is here given, with numerous species described
for the first time, the material being supplied from the rich collection of the Leyden Museum.
The new species are ten in number, viz. CASSIDIX, ATRATUS, ELATUS, CYLINDRICUS,
GALERITUS, CONVEXUS, CORRITGATTTS, EXAEHATUS, ERYTHRORHYNCHUS,
and BUCCINATOR. B. stlvestris, Vieill., is renamed lunatus; B. griseus, Lath., is
called B. cinerascens ; B. malayanus, Rafil., is renamed B. antracicus. The female of
corrugatus is described as B. gracilis. The other species recorded are : — rhinoceros ; sulcatus
(=leucocephalus, Vieill.); malabaricus, Gmel. (as monoceros, Shaw); bicornis; abyssinicus;
hydrocorax (=planicornis, Merrem); vigil, Eorst. (as galeatus); undulatus, Shaw (as plicatus,
Lath.) ; coronatus, Bodd. (as violaceus, Shaw) ; panini, Bodd. (as panayensis) ; gingalensis, Shaw
(as ginginianus) ; easciatus, Shaw ; melanoleucus, Licht. (as coronatus, Shaw) ; plicatus, Eorst.
(as ruficollis) ; comatus, Rafil. ; and nasutus, Linn. The articles are illustrated with coloured
plates of the new species. Species 29.
1822. Raeeles, in the 'Transactions' of the Linnean Society.
Two new species are described from Sumatra, B. MALAYANLS and B. COMATUS.
Species 31.
1823. Bonnaterre and Vieillot, Tableau Encyclopedique et Methodique des trois Regnes
de la Nature.
A catalogue of the species is here given, apparently a repetition of that in the < Nouveau
Dictionnaire,' with the same errors continued.
1824. Merrem, in Ersch und Gruber's Encyclopadie.
Buceros hydrocorax, Linn., is named PLANICORNIS, which will stand, as Hydrocorax
is Brisson's genus for the same bird
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INTRODUCTION.
XI
1827. Wagler, Sy sterna Avium.
All the known species of Buceros are here given, and their synonymy as the author
understood it. Proper discrimination regarding the specific value of those enumerated does
not appear to have been made, as the errors of previous authors are continued, and the same
species in several instances appears under different names. No new ones are added.
1828. Hemprich and Ehrenberg, Symbolse Physical seu Icones et Descriptiones &c.
In this work, in footnotes, four Hornbills are mentioned, viz. P. (Lophoceros) HEMPRICHII,
named for the first time, B. (Alophius) erythrorhynchus, var. leucojpareus (=erythrorhynchus,
Temm.), B. (Lophoceros) hemileucus, and B. (Lophoceros) forskali $ (both =nasutus, Linn.).
Species 32.
1829. Cuvier, Regne Animal.
Following the edition of 1817, the present one merely gives a short list of the existing
species arranged in two groups — those with a prominent casque, and those without. No
attempt is made to investigate the validity of the different species given ; and the lists are
resumes of those of the authors who preceded Cuvier.
1831. Lesson, Traite Ornithologique.
This author places this family of birds in the genus Buceros (Calao) of his Buceridees,
including with them the Motmots. He divides the genus into three subgenera — Tockus,
Buceros, and Bucorvus. The first comprises three species, erythrorhynchus, nasutus (here
called hastatus, Cuv.), and griseus. The second contains melanoleucus, Licht. (called
coronatus, Shaw), birostris, Scop, (called ginginianus, Lath.), cassidix, buccinator, mala-
baricus, bicornis, planicornis (called hydrocorax, Linn.), leucocephalus (called suleatus,
Temm.), undulatus, rhinoceros, sylvestris, and vigil (called galeatus, Gmel.). The third
subgenus has only abyssinicus. No species are described as new.
1833. Hodgson, Asiatic Researches.
BUCEROS (ACEROS) NEPALENSIS described and figured. Species 33.
1835-40. Ruppell, Neue Wirbelthiere zu der Eauna von Abyssinien gehorig.
Three species are here mentioned, and two described for the first time, viz. BUCEROS
(BYCANISTES) CRISTATUS and BUCEROS (TOCKUS) ELAVIROSTRIS, B. limbatus
(=B. hemprichii, Hemp. & Ehr.). Species 35.
1843. Blyth, Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal.
In the volume for this year Mr. Blyth separates the bird without any lateral ridges upon
the bill as distinct from B. undulatus, Shaw, and names it B. SUBRUEICOLLIS, both
species being found in India, the latter, however, apparently restricted to the Tenasserim
^fe^^-— ir--- — ." -i.:...:..j_'_". . . ""•.
Uk 'wv ;
xn
INTRODUCTION.
f
provinces. In the second part of the same journal the writer reviews the species of Asiatic
Hornbills known to him, and makes some valuable communications regarding doubtful and bad
species, and corrects some errors in synonymy. Species 36.
1845. Gray and Mitchell, Genera of Birds.
In this great work the family Bucerotid^e is composed of one subfamily, Bucerotince,
consisting of three genera, Euryceros, Btjceros, and Bttcorvus. The first of these contains
B. prevosti from Madagascar, which is not a Hornbill. The genus Btjceros is made to contain
all the species excepting abyssinicus. Thirty-seven are given in all, of which thirty-two are
valid — the incorrect ones being B. homrai, Hodgson (=bicornis, Linn.), violaceus, Shaw
(=coronatus, Bodd.), sulcatus, Temm. (=leucocephalus, Yieill.), lugwbris, Begbie (=comatus,
Baffles), cinerascens, Temm. (=grjseus, Lath.), pcecilorliynchus, Lafr. (=nasutus juv., Linn.),
pica, Scop. (=rCORONATUs, Bodd.), pllcatus, Lath. (=plicatus, Forst.), ginginianus, Lath.
(=btrostris, Scop.). The genus Bucorvtjs consists of a single species, abyssinicus.
1847. Blyth, Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal.
The female of Anthracoceros malabaricus is described as Buceros nigrirostris.
1849. Sundevall, Ofversight af Kongl. Vetenskaps-Akademiens Porhhandlingen.
The female of B. elatus, Temm., described as B. cultratus.
1850. J. Cassin, Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia.
A. ITSTULATOB, from Fantee and A. ALBO-CRISTATUS from the Gaboon described.
Species 38.
1850. Blyth, Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal.
A. malabaricus, Gmel., from the Deyra Boon, is named B. affinis, and Hutton quoted as
the authority for the species.
1850. Bonaparte, Conspectus Generum Avium.
The family Bucerotim is made to contain two subfamilies, Bucerotince and Euricerotince.
The latter contains but a single species, which is not a Hornbill. Many genera are created for
the reception of the groups as selected, some of which it will be necessary to accept. The first is
Bucorvtjs, containing six species— abyssinicus, elatus, atratus, cristatus, buccinator, and
cylindricus. Next is Buceroturus with a single species, vigil, Eorst., called galeatus.
Buceros, the third genus, has six species— hydrocorax (=planicornis, Merrem), bicornis,
rhinoceros, rhinoceroides, sublunatm (these last two being races of rhinoceros), and lunatus
(which is sylvestris, Yieill.). Hydrocissa, the fourth genus, has also six s V ecies- m0 noceros,
Shaw (^coronatus, Bodd.), pica, Scop. (=coronatus, Bodd.), galeritus, violacem, Shaw (=coro-
natus, Bodd.), malayanus, and exarhatus. Calao is divided into three subgenera: the first,
Oassidix, contains cassidix and corrugatus; the second is Calao, with plicatus, ex Java
(=undulatus, Shaw), and ruficollis (=plicatus, Forst.) ; and the third, Aceros, with nepalensis.
~r ^ -r- -? .. — : r~"~~ — : r-— ;— -— ~— ■ : — : —
JkJkMU
INTRODUCTION.
xui
Berenicornis is the sixth genus, with two species, viz. comatus and macrourus (=albocristatus,
Cassin) : this genus being identical with Anorrhinus, Reich., and of a later date, cannot stand.
Tockus has twelve species: — sulcatus (=leucocephalus, Vieill.), ginginianus (=birostris, Scop.),
GBJSETJS, GINGALENSIS, SUlcirOstriSjWsigl. ( = PANINI, Bodd.), PASCIATUS, MELANOLEUCUS, NASUTUS,
poscilorhynchus (=nasutus juv., Linn.), erythrorhynchus, limbatus (=hemprichii, Ehrenb.),
and plavirostris. The arrangement of the various species into groups is effected with good
judgment ; but some of the genera, and especially the subgenera, are unnecessary.
1854. Bonaparte, Conspectus Volucrum Anisodactylorum.
A list of the Bucepotid.^ is given, similar to the one reviewed above, but with some new
genera added. There are two subfamilies, as before; but Bucerotin^ is divided into three
sections — a. Bucorvece, b. Bucerotece, and c. Tockece. The first includes the genus Btjcorvus, with
two species, abyssinicus and leadbeatepi ?, Vigors. I have been unable to find a description of
this last form. The second section, Bucerotece, contains nine genera and five subgenera. The
author commences with Ceratogymna for elata; Tmetoceros for atratus, cristatus,
cylindricus, buccinator, PisTULATOR, and cultratus, Sundev., which is the female of elatus.
Berenicornis and Buceroturus contain the same species as in the ' Consp. Gen. Av.,' given above.
Buceros has rhinoceros, rhinoceroides, sublunatus (= rhinoceros, Linn.), and lunatus (=sylves-
tris, Vieill.). Komraius (=Dichoceros, Glog.) has bicornis. Hydrocorax contains plani-
cornis. Hydroctssa has monoceros, Shaw (=coronatus, Bodd.), pica, Scop. (=coronatus,
Bodd.), and furthermore is divided into two subgenera: — Anthracoceros, Reich., for bicolor,
Eyton (=malayanus, Raffl.), and galeritus; and Anorrhinus, Reich, (instituted for quite
another form), for violaceus, Shaw (=coronatus, Bodd.), malayantjs, and exarhattjs. Bhyti-
ceros is divided into three subgenera, viz. : — a. Aceros, with nepalensis ; b. Cassidix, with
cassidix and corrugattts; c. Bhyticeros, with plicatus (=undttlatus, Shaw) and ruficollis
(=plicattjs, Eorst.). The third section, Tockece, has seven genera. The 1st, Calao, has sulcatus
(=leucocephaltts, Vieill.); the 2nd, Penelopides, contains sulcirostris (=manill.ze, Bodd.) and
panayensis (=panini, Bodd.) ; the 3rd, Meniceros, Glog. (forestalled by Lophoceros, Hemp. &
Ehrenb.), has ginginianus, Lath. (=birostris, Scop.) ; the 4th, Bhinoplax, Glog. (instituted for
vigil, Eorst.), contains griseus and gingalensis ; the 5th, Grammicus, contains pasciatus,
nasutus, hastatus, Cuv. (=nasutus, Linn.), and limbatus (=hemprichii, Ehrenb.); the 6th,
Bhynchoceros, has melanoleucus ; Tockus, the last genus, contains plavirostris and
erythrorhynchus. The second subfamily, Eurycerotince, contains Euryceros prevosti, which is
not a Hornbill and should not be included in this family. It will be seen that this author has
employed the various genera in a way never intended by those who established them, and in
several instances has placed together species belonging to entirely different genera.
1855. Hartlaub, Journal fur Ornithologie.
TOCKUS SEMIEASCIATUS described. Species 39.
1856. Blyth, Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal.
TOCKUS TICKELLI described. Species 40.
d
-' : / " " •" ■ '
XIV
INTRODUCTION.
1856. J. Cassin, Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia.
TOCKUS CAMURUS described. Species 41.
1859. Cabanis and Heine, Museum Heineanum.
A catalogue of the species contained in the collection of M. Heine is given. Many new
genera are adopted, and some proposed, while the names of others are changed. The new genera
are Blatyceros for hydrocorax (=planicornis, Merrem), Sphagolobus for atbatus, Temm.,
Bycanistes for buccinator, Temm., and Cranorrhinus for cassidix, Temm. No new species
are described.
1860. Gould, Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London.
TOCKUS HARTLAUBI described. Species 42.
1862. Schlegel, Museum d'Histoire Naturelle des Pays-Bas.
A list of the species in the Museum of Leyden is here given. Nearly all the known species
are enumerated, and one described as new — B. CAPER. All are included in one genus, Buceros.
B. rhinoceros is divided into three races — B. rhinoceros sumatranus from Sumatra, B. rhinoceros
borneoensis from Borneo, and B. rhinoceros lunatus (=sylvestris, Vieill.) from Java. To
B. abtssinicus are also assigned three races, viz. B. carunculatus abyssinicus from Abyssinia,
B. carunculatus guineensis from "West Africa, and B. carunculatus cafer from Caffraria. The first
and last of these only are in this Monograph considered entitled to specific rank. Species 43.
1862. Schlegel, Nederlandsch Tijdschrift voor de Dierkunde.
Tockus hartlaubi redescribed as Buceros nagtglasii.
1863. Schlegel, Nederlandsch Tijdschrift voor de Dierkunde.
Buceros (Tockus) camurus redescribed as B. pulchrirostris.
1864. Tickell, Ibis.
An account of the Hornbills of India and Burmah, with an interesting history of the habits
of some of the species, is here given, and T. tickelli, Blyth, more particularly described.
1865. Hartlaub, Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London.
TOCKUS MONTEIRI described. Species 44.
Tockus plavirostris redescribed as T. elegans.
1869. Cabanis, von der Decken's Reisen in Ost- Africa, part iii.
BUCEROS (TOCKUS) DECKENI described. Species 45.
1870. Pinsch and Hartlaub, von der Decken's Reisen in Ost-Africa.
The species of this family inhabiting East Africa are here given, with their synonymy.
Seven in all are recorded ; no new ones described.
1870. Sclater, Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London.
BUCEROS (BYCANISTES) SUBCYLINDRICUS described. Species 46.
1870. Hartlaub and Pinsch, von der Decken's Reisen in Ost-Africa.
Tockus melanoleucus redescribed as Buceros pallidirostris.
INTRODUCTION.
xv
1871. G. R. Gray, Annals and Magazine of Natural History.
BUCEROS (PHOLIDOPHALUS) CASUARINUS described from a head. Species 47.
1872. T. C. Jerdon, Ibis.
BUCEROS AUSTENI described. Species 48.
1873. R. B. Sharpe, Zoological Record for 1871.
BUCEROS (ANORRHINUS) LEUCOLOPHUS separated from A. albo-cristatus,
Species 49.
1873. D. G. Elliot, Ibis.
PHOLIDOPHALUS SHARPII described as Buceros sharpii. Species 50.
1873. Barboza du Bocage, Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London.
A paper chiefly upon the three forms of B. abyssinicus, two of which are considered good
species, viz. B. abyssinicus and B. caper. The third, B. guineensis of the author, is probably
the young of B. pyrrhops, Elliot.
1873. A. Hume, Stray Feathers.
A small form of R. plicatus from Narcondam Island, described as R. NARCONDAMI.
Species 51.
1874. Murie, Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London.
A paper describing the nature of the food-sac ejected by the Hornbills, and proving it to be
the epithelial lining of the gizzard.
1876. R. B. Sharpe, Transactions of the Linnean Society.
CRANORRHINUS WALDENI described. Species 52.
1877. D. G. Elliot, Annals and Magazine of Natural History.
BUCEROS PYRRHOPS from the Congo described as distinct, and the three conspecies of
the genus, as given by Schlegel, considered as probably representing distinct species. Species 53.
1877. Lord Tweeddale, Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London.
The following Hornbills are described :— HYDROCORAX MINDANENSIS as Buceros
mindanensis, HYDROCORAX SEMIGALEATUS, also in the genus Buceros, and PENE-
LOPIDES AEEINIS. Species 56.
1877. D. G. Elliot, Annals and Magazine of Natural History.
ANTHRACOCEROS ERATERCULUS from Cochin China described. Species 57.
1877. Cabanis and Reichenow, Journal fur Ornithologie.
BYCANISTES ALBOTIBIALIS described, as Buceros albotibialis. Species 58.
1880. Oustalet, Bulletin de l'Association Scientifique de Erance.
LIMONOPHALUS MONTANI described as Buceros montani. Species 59.
1880. Cabanis, Journal fur Ornithologie.
BUCEROS (BYCANISTES) SUBQUADRATUS, from Angola, described. Species 60.
«*«*««« * VVWOTnww
XVI
INTRODUCTION.
GENERA.
The genera proposed for the various species of Hornhills are very numerous ; and many have
been adopted by those authors who have written upon these birds. At first sight it would
appear that so many divisions were superfluous ; but it depends in a great measure on what kind
of characters, and how many of them, an author deems necessary before he is willing to
establish a genus. The casques of the Hornbills are very peculiar ; and there are many species
which have this formation very similar to each other in appearance and structure ; and such
individuals naturally constitute separate groups. I do not see any impropriety in considering
these entitled to generic rank. Some are certainly generically distinct, viz. Bucorvus
abyssinicus, Hydrocorax planicornis, and E/HINOPlax vigil with its solid bony casque.
No one would, I think, place the three birds above named in the same genus ; and having
acknowledged this, it is impossible to stop with them, for there are many species that cannot
be placed with either of the three mentioned. "With but few exceptions, however, all the birds
that have been selected in this Monograph as types of the different genera have others in
the family closely allied to them ; and thus groups are readily formed and their generic position
rendered clear. In the following list of genera I commence with Brisson, whose work in this
respect is accepted by ornithologists.
Type.
1760. Hydrocorax, Brisson, Ornithologie, vol. iv. p. 565 ' . Hydrocorax planicornis, Merrem.
1766. Buceros, Linnaeus, Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 153 .... Buceros rhinoceros, Linn.
1828. Lophoceros, Hemp. & Ehrenb. Symb. Phys. . . . Buceros nasutus, Linn.
1828. Alophius, iid. ibid, (nee Entomol.) Buceros erythrorhynchus, Temm.
1831. Tockus, Less. Trait. Ornith. p. 252 Buceros erythrorhynchus, Temm.
1831. Bucorvus, id. ibid Buceros abyssinicus, Linn.
1842. Dichoceros, Gloger, Hand- und Hilfsbuch, p. 335 . Buceros bicornis, Linn.
1842. Ehinoplax, id. ibid Buceros vigil, Eorst.
1842. Meniceros, id. ibid. Buceros rhinoceros, Linn.
1842. Bhynchoceros, id. ibid Buceros melanoleucus, Bodd.
1844. Aceros, Hodg. Gray's Zool. Misc. p. 85 Buceros nepalensis, Hodg.
1847. Tmetoceros, Cab. Wiegm. Archiv, p. 345 .... Buceros abyssinicus, Linn.
1849. Anorrhinus, Reich. Syst. Av. pi. 49 Buceros galeritus, Temm.
1849. Anthracoceros, id. ibid. pi. 50 . Buceros malabaricus, Gmel.
1849. Bhyticeros, id. ibid Buceros undulatus, Shaw.
1849. Cranoceros, id. ibid Buceros vigil, Porst.
1849. Grammicus, id. ibid. pi. 49; Buceros nasutus, Linn.
1849. Penelopides, id. ibid . Buceros panini, Bodd.
1849. Bucorax, Sundev. (Efvers. Kongl. Vetensk. Akad.
± orn. p. 161 . Buceros abyssinicus, Linn.
1850. Cassidix, Bp. Consp. Gen. Av. p. 90 Buceros cassidix, Temm.
- .
INTRODUCTION.
Type.
1850. Calao, Bp. (nee Less.) Consp. G-en. Av. p. 90 . . . Buceros cassidix, Temm.
1850. Hydrocissa, Bp. Consp. Gen. Av. p. 90 Buceros exarhatus, Temm.
1850. Buceroturtjs, id. ibid. p. 89 Buceros vigil, Eorst.
1850. Berenecornis, id. ibid. p. 91 Buceros comatus, Raffles.
1854. Ceratogymna, Bp. Consp. Volucr. Anisod. p. 2 . . . Buceros elatus, Temm.
1854. Tmetoceros, Bp. (nee Cab.) Consp. Volucr. Anisod.
p. 2 Buceros atratus, Temm.
1854. Homraius, Bp. Consp. Volucr. Anisod. p. 2 . . . . Buceros bicomis, Linn.
1859. Platyceros, Cab. & Hein. Mus. Hein. p. 174 . . . Buceros planicomis, Merrem.
1859. Bycanistes, iid. Mus. Hein. p. 171 Buceros buccinator, Temm.
1859. Sphagolobus, iid. ibid Buceros atratus, Temm.
1859. Cranorrhtntts, iid. Mus. Hein. p. 173 . . . . . Buceros cassidix, Temm.
1873. Ocyceros, Hume, Nests and Eggs of Indian Birds . Buceros birostris, Scop.
1878. Pholidophaltjs, Elliot, Mon. Bucerotidae Buceros fistulator, Cass.
1882. Limonophalus, id. ibid Buceros montani, Oust.
Key to Genera and Species.
1. Casque curving from base of culmen, horn-shaped, opened
or closed in front I. BUCORVUS.
a. Casque with large circular opening anteriorly .... 1. abyssinicus.
b. Casque with small circular opening anteriorly .... 2. pyrrhops.
c. Casque completely closed anteriorly 3. cqfer.
2. Casque very large, rounded on upper edge, two thirds
length of bill II. BUCEROS.
a. Casque very much turned up anteriorly 1. rhinoceros.
b. Casque nearly straight on upper edge for entire length . 2. sylvestris.
3. Casque flat anteriorly, concave, corners turned slightly
upwards III. DICHOCEROS.
a. General plumage black and white; tail white, with
black band on terminal third 1. bicomis.
4. Casque flat, widest posteriorly, rather pointed anteriorly . IV. HYDROCORAX.
a. General plumage chestnut-red and black ; tail white.
a!. Casque with anterior margin compressed and elevated.
a". Bill red 1. planicomis.
b". Bill, apical half white ; tail buff 2. mindanensis.
b'. Casque anteriorly curving gradually to the culmen . 3. semigaleatus.
5. Casque solid V. RHINOPLAX.
a. Median rectrices greatly exceeding the rest in length . 1. vigil.
e
xvu
■ m w 9 *i
x w INTRODUCTION.
6. Casque large, compressed laterally, highest anteriorly . . VI. ANTHBACOCEEOS.
a. Casque white, with black patch ; outer tail-feathers white.
a'. Black on casque not extending to maxilla ... . 1. coronatus.
V. Black on casque extending onto the maxilla .... 2. convexus.
b. Casque white, with black patch; tail-feathers black,
terminal third white.
a 1 . Black on casque not extending to maxilla .... 3. malabaricus.
b'. Black on casque extending onto the maxilla .... 4 frater cuius.
c. Casque entirely white 5. malayanus.
7. Casque high, keel-shaped, nearly half the length of bill,
corrugated laterally . . VII. CBANOBBHINUS.
a. Tail white for its entire length . .... . . . . 1. cassidix.
b. Tail black for half its basal length, remainder chestnut . 2. corrugatus.
c. Tail cinnamon ; base and apical portion greenish white . 3. waldeni.
d. Tail white, with an apical black band . . 4 leucocephalus.
8. Casque small, upright, compressed; bill grooved . . . VIII. PENELOPIDES.
a. Tail dark brown ; bar of deep buff two thirds from base ;
apical black band 1. manillce.
b. Tail deep chestnut ; apical black band. Base of maxilla
grooved perpendicularly 2. panini.
c. Tail rufous, with a black band at base; tip blotched with
black. Base of maxilla smooth . 3. affinis.
9. Casque very large, extending over half the maxilla, flat
in front, upright IX. CEBATOGYMNA.
a. Tail, two central rectrices black, remainder white ... 1. elata.
10. Casque extending nearly all over the maxilla, upper edge
longest X. SPHAGOLOBUS.
a. Tail dark green ; terminal third of rectrices, except two
median ones, white 1. atratus.
11. Casque extending over two thirds of the maxilla, narrowed,
compressed anteriorly, tip at right angle to culmen . XI. LIMONOPHALUS.
a. Tail pure white. Head crested l. montani.
12. Casque longer than bill, pointed anteriorly, curved like
maxill a . XII. BYCANISTES.
a. Tail with median feathers black, rest tipped with white.
a 1 . Base of mandible yellow; secondaries all black . . . 1. cristatm.
V. Mandible all black ; secondaries tipped with white . 2. buccinator.
b. Median rectrices black, lateral ones white, with broad
transverse black band near base.
a). Casque black and white 3. subquadratus.
V. Casque wholly black 4. subcylindricus.
INTRODUCTION.
c. Tail white, with a broad transverse black band.
a'. Thighs black . 5. ci
V. Thighs white 6. albotibialis.
13. Basal half of culmen covered by a low transversely grooved
casque-like protuberance XIII. PHOLIDOPHALUS.
a. Tail with the lateral feathers black tipped with white . 1. fistulator.
b. Tail with the lateral feathers pure white ...... 2. sharpii.
c. Tail ? casque highest posteriorly, swollen, corru-
gated. (Head alone known.) 3. casuarinus.
14. Base of culmen covered with overlapping scales .... XIV. KHYTIDOCEROS.
a. Top of head and occiput dark chestnut.
d. Base of bill grooved laterally 1. undulatus.
V. Base of bill smooth, without grooves 2. subruficollis.
b. Head and neck reddish orange.
a'. Base of bill smooth . 3. ^Meatus.
V . Diminutive form of above 4 narcondami.
15. Culmen compressed laterally, elevated into a low crest . XV. ANOBBHINITS.
a. Tail white 1. comatus.
b. Tail black, tipped with white.
a'. Wings spotted with white 2. albocristatus.
b'. Wings black, without white spots 3. leucolophus.
c. Tail white, terminal third green 4. galeritus.
d. Tail greenish black, with pale tips 5. tickelli.
e. Tail slaty-grey with a greenish gloss, and tipped with
white . 6. austeni.
16. Bill without casque; base of maxilla ridged transversely . XVI. ACEBOS.
Tail black at base, remainder pure white 1. nepalensis.
17. Casque low, grooved its entire length XVII. HYDBOCISSA.
General plumage black ; superciliary stripe, cheeks, and
throat white 1. exarhata.
18. Casque low, pointed anteriorly . . XVIII. LOPHOCEBOS.
a. Bill black, yellow triangular space on base of maxilla . 1. nasutus.
b. Bill dusky, tips and outlines of both maxilla and man-
dible whitish 2. birostris.
19. Culmen compressed laterally, elevated into a low crest,
sometimes obsolete XIX. TOCKUS.
a . Bill bright red, base yellow. Head dark brown, streaked
with white 1. melanoleucus.
b. Bill yellowish, tip black.
a!. Two rectrices next to outermost one white for their
entire length 2. fasciatus.
xix
V ItllH H tl
■ »» V ■ *
■^ ■— — ■—
xx INTEODUCTION.
#'. Two rectrices next to outermost one white for half
their apical length
c. Bill yellow, tip reddish hrown. Head and neck leaden grey
d. Bill deep red. Head and neck blackish brown ....
e. Bill deep red. Head and neck light grey
/. Bill pale red at base, yellowish at tip. Outer rectrices
white for two inches from tips
g. Bill greenish white, brown at base. Outer rectrices
greenish black, apical third white
h. Bill deep red. Head and neck leaden grey ; superciliary
stripe white
i. Bill rufous. Head, neck, and underparts white . . .
j. Bill black, tip red. Tail greenish black, outermost
rectrices tipped with white
k. Bill bright red. Tail dark olive-brown, edged with rufous .
3. semifasciatus.
4. flavirostris.
5. Tiemprichii.
6. monteiri.
8. gingalensis.
9. erytJirorJiynchus.
10. declceni.
11. hartlaubi.
12. camurus.
CLASSIFICATION.
The position of the Bucerotidje among birds is generally conceded by ornithologists to be
between the Kingfishers and the Hoopoes. As long ago as 1838 the late Mr. Blyth * compared
the species of this family with the Hoopoes, and regarded them as a distinct tribe, to which he
gave the name Ajppendirostres. The Hornbills have many peculiar structural characters, the
most conspicuous of which is, of course, the formidable bill. This, however, with perhaps one
exception (Rhinoplax vigil), is formidable in appearance only, as it is mainly hollow and
permeated with a network of bony fibres. Another peculiarity is the possession of long and
strong eyelashes. These are unusual among birds ; and they may be given to protect the eyes
from falling particles of wood or fruit dislodged by the creature when using its bill. Prof.
Owent states that the tongue is extremely short, of a triangular form, and smooth, and the
oesophagus, as in the Toucans, is very wide and of nearly equal diameter as far as the gizzard.
This last has its coats thick, and is of a more elongated form than those of the Toucans ; its
cuticular lining is very tough, and disposed in longitudinal ridges. There are no caeca ; and the
intestines are arranged in long and narrow loops, as in the Haven. The whole length of the
intestines is Rve feet. At that period Prof. Owen considered the nearest ally of the Hornbills to
be the Toucans ; but the presence of a gall-bladder, which the Toucans do not possess, places
the Btjcerotid^ nearer to the Crows. Although many of the Hornbills are of such large
size, their skeletons are extremely light, and completely permeated by air, the very phalanges of
the toes being hollow to their extremities. Like the Hoopoes, the Hornbills possess but ten
tail-feathers ; the Kingfishers, excepting those of the genus Tanysiptera, have twelve. Wallace %,
* Mag. Nat. Hist. vol. ii. p. 589. f Proc. Zool. Soc. 1833, p. 102. % Ann. Nat. Hist. 1856, xviii. p. 193.
INTRODUCTION.
xxi
^
$
on the other hand, places these birds nearest the Kingfishers, because, on account of the structure
of the feet and toes, and also from their habits, the Hornbills are Pissirostral birds, though of an
abnormal form. " Their very short legs and united toes, with a broad flat sole, are exactly similar
to those of the Kingfishers. They have powerful wings ; but their heavy bodies oblige them to use
much exertion in flight, which is therefore not very rapid, though often extended to considerable
distances." "We look upon Hornbills, therefore, as one of the abnormal developments
of Pissirostral birds, of which they are the largest, the least elegant, and the least gifted with
faculties for locomotion and for obtaining food ; and their nearest affinities lie in the direction of
the Kingfishers." Nitzsch, in his ( Pterylographie '*, places the three genera Buceros, TJpupa,
and Alcedo in his family Lipogloss^e, agreeing together in the absence of an aftershaft on the
contour feathers, and in the feathered tip of the oil-gland, but differing in the characters of their
plumage and in the distribution of their feather-tracts. Buceros and Upupa agree in having ten
rectrices ; Alcedo has twelve. Eytonf makes the Bucerotid^e consist of three subfamilies, Momo-
tince, UpupincB, and Bucerince. Prof. Huxley J, in his paper on the classification of birds, places
the Bucerotidje in the Desmognathous division of the Carinate, and arranges them between
Podargus, Alcedo, and Dacelo; while Dr. Murie §, in his able paper on the Upupid^b and their
relationships, considers the members of that family to be the nearest allies of the Hornbills. He
says, in concluding his remarks, " Lastly, what in exterior appearance can be more opposed to
each other than such a great unwieldy horned bird as the Rhinoceros Hornbill (Buceros
rhinoceros) and the graceful Hoopoe ? Yet when Tockus is reached, size and outward
peculiarities dwindle till we have a form in which can be recognized semblance to certain of the
UpuprD^E. There is still a gap; but the very manifold structural agreements and adaptations
thereof to habits &c. are strong evidences of congruity ..... It suffices to say that economy in
general, pterylosis, geographical distribution in part, and anatomy taken all in all, turn the scale
in favour of the Hornbills as the group bearing the closest relation to the Hoopoes and Irrisors."
It will be seen by the foregoing references that the chief writers on comparative anatomy have
nearly agreed in the position which this family should occupy among birds, and that the
Kingfishers on one side and the Hoopoes on the other are apparently its nearest allies. It must
be borne in mind that, although the number of their rectrices are different, yet many of the
habits of the Hornbills and the Kingfishers are very similar ; and in the classification of birds
these should always have considerable influence in forming an arrangement. The Hornbills as
they exist at the present day, exhibit to us probably but a remnant of the great family which
once dwelt amid the forests of that mighty eastern continent of which a large portion is now
beneath the waters. So, many gaps exist, not one only, we may presume; and the diversified
forms that would supply the necessary links to complete an unbroken chain of connected species
throughout the family have long since disappeared. Our means, then, for working out this
difficult problem are but scanty ; but probably, amid this ever-shifting, changing world, they will
never be more ample than at the present time.
* Ray Soc., edited by Sclater, 1867.
% Proc. Zool. Soc. 1867, p. 446.
t Osteol. Av. (1867) p. 59.
§ Ibis, 1873, p. 181.
/
FWI
XX11
INTRODUCTION.
The Btjcerotid^e appear to me susceptible of arrangement into two divisions or subfamilies,
containing the Ground- and TREE-Hornbills respectively. Of the first of these we have at the
present day three species, which possibly are the sole remaining members of what may have been
an extensive group, and differ from the rest of the family in many particulars, the most
conspicuous of which are the long legs formed for walking, whereas all the other species have short
legs and can only hop. Myologically, also, these birds differ from the rest of the Btjcerotid^: in
having only two muscles of the thigh represented, viz. the semitendinosus and the accessory
semitendinosus; while the ambiens, the femoro-caudal, and the accessory femoro-caudal are
absent. In the genera Buceros and Tockus the accessory femoro-caudal muscle is present.
Eor this subfamily I would propose the term Bucorviisme. The other, Bucerotin.^, contains
the remaining species, amounting to over fifty in number, comprising various groups allied to
each other in the form of their casque and general colour of plumage ; and in many of them their
natural affinities are further upheld by their geographical distribution. The genera for these
various forms have been many, all authors seeming to appreciate the difficulty of retaining these
birds in one or two genera, as the older writers did. Of the thirty-four genera proposed, I have
employed nineteen, which, I consider, fairly represent the different forms existing at the
present day. The single genus Tockus is made to contain perhaps some species which might be
deemed at least subgenerically different from the typical style ; but I do not think it essential to
make any such divisions, as in the main the species are all really members of one genus, the
more or less slight elevation of the culmen being about the only character which could be
urged in behalf of a separation of the species.
I commence the arrangement of the family with the genus Bucorvus, containing three
species. These birds have many characteristics to separate them from the other members of
Bucerotim. They are essentially ground-birds, yet ascend to the branches of trees ; but their
home is the ground, over which they walk with ease, while their relatives are tree-loving birds,
descending but rarely to the earth, upon which they move by awkward hops. Here at once is
perceived a great difference of habit ; and to accommodate the Ground-Hornbills to their different
life, their anatomical structure is modified. The second subfamily, Bucerotijoe, contains the
greater part of the family ; and these all live in and among the trees. I begin with the genus
Buceros as containing a typical form of the true Hornbill, with two species, the chief (and perhaps
only) difference between them being the upturned casque of the one, and the straight casque of the
other. The third genus, Dichoceros, was formed for the well-known bicomis, the anterior corner
of whose horns turns slightly upward. Next to this, as belonging to the flat-casque group,
I place the genus Hydrocorax, with three species ; to be followed by Bhinoplax, containing
the extraordinary bird with solid casque, bare neck, and elongated median rectrices. Between
all these genera gaps exist, which at the present time we are unable to fill ; but we may feel
assured that the extinct species which once supplied the desiderata were no less wonderful in
structure than are their relatives which remain with us. Anthracoceros now introduces the
species bearing an upright, more or less lengthened, laterally compressed casque. It contains
fLYe species, possessing, for the size of the birds, quite large casques, highest anteriorly. Pour
INTRODUCTION.
XXlll
of the species resemble each other closely in appearance, both as to casque and plumage ; but
the fifth has a perfectly white casque and a conspicuous superciliary stripe, not observed in the
others. The seventh genus is Cranorrhinus, with four species, distinguished by high, upright,
keel-shaped casques extending half the length of the bill, with several undulations on the sides ;
and this genus is followed by Penelopides with three species, of much smaller size, lower
casques, and grooved bills. The birds of the last three genera, although they do not follow each
other in regular order, unknown forms being required to supply the void between each two
genera, still are closely related, and seem to constitute a natural group in the family. I now come
to birds also possessing high and largely developed casques, but which are natives of a different
zoogeographical region, and, as might be supposed, are rather widely separated from the members
of the previous genera, yet at the same time possess characters in common with them. Several
links are needed here to complete the line between the last-named genus and Ceratogymna,
the one I now reach. This has but a single species, though one that is very remarkable for the
form of its casque, which is large, bulky, extending over half the maxilla, rather flattened on its
anterior face, which is upright ; large irregular grooves also run along the sides of the casque
near the maxilla. Allied to this is the single species of the genus Sphagolobus, but with a
casque differently shaped and even larger than the other. Following this I place the genus
Limonophaltjs with a single species, succeeded by Bycanistes with six species, having, as a
rule, a casque longer than the bill, pointed anteriorly, and curving to the culmen. Next is the
genus Pholidophaltjs with three species without a casque, but with a roughened casque-like
protuberance covering the basal third of the culmen. These last five genera with their species
form a well-marked group, with similarly coloured plumage ; but, like the others, the links are
wanting by which the existing species could be more readily arranged. Through the species of
the last genus we are led to those birds which have bills devoid of casques, or else the latter
represented by flattened protuberances having the appearance of bony scales. These are contained
in the genus Rhytidoceros, and consist of four species, one of which, like the members of the
last genus, has transverse grooves at base of bill. The species of the fourteenth genus do not
possess casques ; but, in lieu of this appendage, the culmen is compressed laterally, and elevated
into a low crest descending gradually forward to the culmen. There are five species included in
this genus (Anorrhinus), all having long loose crests on the head and occiput. Aceros, the next
genus, contains but one though a large and fine species, without casque, the culmen swollen at
the base of maxilla. With this bird the list of the large Hornbills is finished, those that remain
decreasing in size until we arrive at the last one, no larger than a Jay. Exarhata, which is
the sole species of the genus Hydroctssa, has really no ally in the family, and is remarkable
for its crest-like casque, hardly to be distinguished from the maxilla, and is moreover peculiar
for the lateral grooves running its entire length. It is a Celebes form, and probably is the
sole survivor of a subgroup of this family. Lophoceros, the next genus, contains but two
species, allied closely to the members of the succeeding one, but differs in having the low casque
extended to a point at its anterior end, returning to the culmen by an acute angle. The last
genus into which I have divided the family is Tockus, containing twelve species. Some of these
XXIV
INTRODUCTION.
have the culmen compressed and elevated into a low crest ; others have merely a median ridge
along the maxilla. It contains the smallest species of the family ; and they are those which,
according to the views of Dr. Murie, incline towards the Uptjpidjs.
GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION.
The members of the family Bucerotida3 are found in but three of the zoogeographical
divisions of the globe, viz. the Ethiopian, Oriental, and Australian regions. Of these the last
possesses but few representatives, confined to its Austro-Malayan division ; for the Bucerotidse
are preeminently an Arctogean family, and have but few offshoots, and these are chiefly found
among the Notogean islands lying nearest to those composing the Indo-Malayan division of
the Oriental Region.
Commencing with that part of the earth's surface in which these birds are found that
lies furthest to the westward, we enter Africa, in the Ethiopian Region, and observe that the
members of the family are natives of all the countries lying south of the Great Desert of the
Sahara, from the west to the eastern coasts and down to the Cape colony. Many species have
great ranges, some reaching quite across the continent, as they are met with on both coasts ;
while others of less extended dispersion still overrun several districts in which other very
distinct species have their habitat. This, indeed, is the case with members of the family in
all the different zoogeographical divisions in which they are found; and it thus becomes
extremely difficult, if not indeed well nigh impossible, to accurately designate the proper distri-
bution of many of the species. In Africa, the countries lying on the west coast contain the
largest number of the species found in the Ethiopian Region, viz. twenty out of twenty-seven,
several of which, however, extend their range quite across the continent. Of the remaining
seven, four only (so far as our knowledge of them enables us to decide) are confined to the
countries on the east coast, two have their range unknown or, at least, undetermined, and one
is generally distributed all over the continent. Beginning in the north-west, in Senegambia, at
the southern margin of the Sahara, we find that this district contains four species — viz. C. elata,
A. alboceistattjs, L. NASUTUS, and T. semieasciattjs. The first two and the last extend their
range to the Gaboon ; but how far into the interior, is unknown. The L. nasutus is a common
African species with a very extensive distribution, being met with in various portions of the
continent, such as Abyssinia on the east coast, and Sennaar, as well as the region of the Limpopo
river to Damaraland, on the south. It would appear to be an inhabitant of nearly all Africa
south of the desert. Proceeding southward along the west shore, we find in Eantee, Ashantee,
and the Gold Coast, seven well-marked species not before mentioned — viz. T. haetlatjbi,
A. LEUCOLOPHUS, B. CYLINDEICTJS, S. ATEATUS, B. ALBOTIBIALIS, T. CAMUEUS, and P. PISTTJLATOE.
Of these T. haetlaubi is only known from the Gold Coast. A. leucolophtjs seems to be
IMUyuUMk
INTRODUCTION.
XXV
confined to Pantee. B. cylindbictts is found in both Pantee and Ashantee. S. atbatus
extends its range to Fernando Po. B. albotibialis was procured at the Gaboon, while
T. camtjbus is met with from the Gaboon to the Congo. The next district on the west coast
that contains a species different from those already given is Angola, which has B. subqtjadbatus,
P. shabpii, T. easciatus, and T. melanolettctts. Of these the second and third are apparently
restricted to this district, or at all events they are very local in their range; but the last
has a very wide distribution, being met with to the southward in Ovampo and Damaraland,
and also across the east coast in the valley of the Shire of the Zambesi region up to 5° south
of the equator, and perhaps still further north. Damaraland possesses three species not yet
given, viz. T. ebythbobhynchtjs, T. elavibostbis, and T. monteibi. Two of these have a very
extended range, T. ebythbobhynchtjs having been procured, according to Schlegel, in Senegal
and Sennaar. It has also been obtained at Ondonga on the Okovango river, and at Lake
Ngami. Kirk met with it in the Zambesi region on the eastern coast ; and Sundevall gives
it as an inhabitant of Caffraria. T. elavibostbis is found generally from Damaraland to
the Transvaal, and as far north as Abyssinia. T. monteibi, however, is restricted to Benguela
and Damaraland. Passing now to the east coast in the enumeration of species still to be
mentioned, we come to the district of the Zambesi and find two fine species, B. buccinator and
B. cristatus. The first named is not uncommon, according to Dr. Kirk, in the mountains
and plains through which the Zambesi flows ; but the extent of its range is not satisfactorily
ascertained as yet, while B. ceistatus has been met with in the valley of the Shire river, was
procured by Capt. Speke and Grant in Uganda, and is also a native of Abyssinia, thus
appearing to be distributed throughout the length of the east coast from the Zambesi northward ;
but, like its relative, its range towards the interior is unknown. Two species only of those
restricted to the eastern part of the African continent remain to be noticed — T. deckeni and
T. hempbichii. The latter is not found out of Abyssinia ; and the exact locality of the former
is not given by its describer. B. stjbcylindbicus, whose habitat was unknown to its describer,
has been procured in Central Africa by Dr. Emin Bey, at a place called Gor Aju*. B. abyssinicus
is found in Abyssinia and Sennaar. B. pybbhops is as yet only known from the Gaboon; and
B. cafeb is an inhabitant of Angola, Damaraland, and Caffraria. One species remains, regarding
whose range we have no knowledge, viz. P. castjabinus, described by the late G. E. Gray from
a head found in the British Museum without any locality attached.
Passing from the Ethiopian Region to the eastward, we come to our second zoogeographical
division, viz. the Oriental Eegion. This is divided into four subregions (which are quite sufficient
for the purpose of this review) — Indian, Ceylonese, Indo-Chinese, and Indo-Malayan. The
Himalayas are separated into north-west and south-east portions, the dividing line being in
the neighbourhood of Kitmandu. In the first two of these subregions, the Hornbills are
scattered throughout the whole of their extent, from the Himalayas in the north to and including
Ceylon in the south. In the Indo-Chinese subregion they are met with in the south-eastern
* Pelzeln, Verh. k.-k. zool.-bot. Gesell. Wien, 1881, p. 153.
■
V!
i
XXVI
INTRODUCTION.
Himalayas, Assam, Burmah, Arakan, Tenasserim, and Siam. How far they extend into China
or the interior of Burmah is unknown ; but it is most probable, as suggested by Wallace, that
they will be found wherever the great forests may reach in that direction. Throughout the
Indo-Malayan subregion they are pretty generally distributed, especially in the Malay peninsula
and the great islands adjacent to it. To pass rapidly in review the ranges of the various
species accepted as such in this Monograph, we find that in the Indian subregion we meet
A. malabaricus at the base of the north-east Himalayas ; and the species extends eastward
along the chain into the Indo-Chinese subregion, throughout Nepal, Assam,~and Burmah, and
southward through British Burmah. It is not found in the Indian peninsula, that I am aware.
Another species, L. birostris, is distributed generally throughout India, not found in Assam,
and never to the eastward of the Bay of Bengal. A third, D. bicornis, has an even wider
distribution than either of the above, being met with in the hill-forests of all India, through British
Burmah, and in the Malay peninsula and Sumatra of the Indo-Malayan subregion. Three
other species are found in the Indian peninsula — A. coronatus, T. griseus, and T. gingalensis.
The first and last of these extend southward through the Ceylonese subregion. Passing to the
north-east into the Indo-Chinese subregion (besides A. malabaricus, already mentioned) we
find the south-eastern Himalayas are inhabited by the fine A. nepalensis, which ranges through
Assam and the Tenasserim provinces, where also A. tickelli has been procured. In Cochin
China A. eraterculus has been obtained ; but its exact dispersion is not known. Entering
now the Indo-Malayan division of the Oriental Region, we find the Malayan peninsula tenanted
by various species, the majority of which also inhabit the neighbouring islands. They are
B. RHINOCEROS, R. VIGIL, A. MALAYANUS, A. COMATUS, R. UNDULATUS, and A. GALERITUS. All
these are also natives of Sumatra and Borneo, except A. comatus, which is not found east of
Sumatra, and R. unlulatus, which is not met with beyond Java. The last-named island also
contains two species, B. sylvestris and A. convexus, the first peculiar to itself, the latter also
found, according to Schlegel, in Sumatra and Borneo. The last two islands also possess one
species not found elsewhere, C. corrttgatus. The remaining portions of the division that have
any species of this family are the Philippines and Narcondam Island. The first possesses nine
species, viz. H. planicornis, H. mikdanensis, H. semigaleatus, C. leucocephaltjs, P. panini,
P. Manilla, P. aeeinis, C. waldeni, and L. montani. Narcondam Island contains R. nar-
condami. Should, however, this eventually be considered only a local race of R. plicatus,
mentioned below, then it would extend the range of that species, as Narcondam Island lies
further to the westward than any recorded habitat of R. plicatus.
In the Australian Region the Hornbills are confined entirely to Celebes and the Moluccan
and Papuan groups of the Austro-Malayan division, where but four species of the family are
met with, one, however, having a very extensive dispersion. Beginning with the most western
island of this division, save the one given above, it is found that Celebes possesses two species,
H. exarhata and C. cassidix; and neither of them is met with in any other locality. The
Moluccas contain R. plicatus, ranging from My sol, New Guinea, to the Solomon Islands,
these forming the extreme eastern limit that any species of this family reaches.
iMUHHHtfiftiiaaHiaB^
INTRODUCTION.
XXV11
Prom the foregoing review of the dispersion of the various species of the Hornbills it will
be perceived that the Buceeotid^: are pretty equally divided at the present day between the
Ethiopian and Oriental Regions, the first having twenty-seven and the latter twenty-nine species,
while but a few, apparently the remaining representatives of a numerous race, are scattered
about the islands of the Malay archipelago. Wallace has so thoroughly exhibited the probable
way in which the great Australian continent has been broken up and left in the condition we
now see it, and, at a similar period, how the Asiatic continent extended its limit until it
almost reached its great southern neighbour, that it will be quite unnecessary to discuss the
subject here; but unquestionably, during the convulsions of earth and sea, with the rising and
falling land, the Bttcerotid^e, like many other great families of birds, have become widely
scattered from the original continent which was once their home. Species have become separated
from each other ; some that may have been local in their habitat have disappeared altogether, or
else are found today inhabiting one island only, such as those now living upon Celebes, Java,
and certain of the Philippine Islands ; while others that were widely dispersed over the old
continent are now met with in many of the islands of the archipelago. In both the Oriental
and Ethiopian Regions the range of many species appears arbitrarily drawn, and is inexplicable
to us ; but our difficulty may arise, in a measure at least, on the African continent, from our
lack of knowledge of the fauna of the interior of that great land ; for many of the species we
now regard as restricted in their habitat may in reality have a wide dispersion. The same
remark will apply to certain divisions of the Oriental Region ; for we know nothing of the extent
of range or number of species of this family beyond the north-eastern portion of the Indian
subregion. How many may inhabit the unknown forests stretching away to the northward, or
how far these birds may penetrate into the Palsearctic Region, or even to what degree, if at all,
the family may be represented there, has not yet been ascertained. We can only rely upon
future research for a solution of the problem. At present our knowledge simply points out to
us that the " geographical distribution of the Hornbills seems quite in accordance with the
almost universal belief of modern naturalists, that the present position of every living thing
upon the earth is the result of that long and complicated series of geological changes and
organic modifications which the globe has ever been and still is undergoing."
The following list gives, in a condensed form, the geographical distribution of the genera
and species of the BucerotidtE : —
1. Bucorvus.
Bange of the Genus.
Ethiopian Region.
Bange of the Species.
1. Bucorvus ahyssinicus. East Africa : Abyssinia and Sennaar.
2. Bucorvus pyrrhops. Gaboon.
3. Bucorvus cafer. Angola ; Damaraland ; Caffraria.
XXV111
INTRODUCTION.
2. Buceros.
Mange of the Genus.
Indo-Malay division of the Oriental Region.
Mange of the Species.
1. Buceros rhinoceros. Malay peninsula ; Sumatra ; Borneo.
2. Buceros sylvestris. Java.
3. Dichoceros.
Mange of the Genus.
Oriental Region.
Mange of the Species.
1. Dichoceros bicomis. Extensive hill-forests of all India; Assam; Arakan; Tenasserim ;
Malay peninsula ; Sumatra.
4 Hydrocorax.
Mange of the Genus.
Oriental Region.
Mange of the Species.
1. Hydrocorax planicornis. Luzon, Philippine Islands. This species was always stated by
the older writers, and even, among modern ones, by as good an authority as the late Mr. Blyth,
to be an inhabitant of the Moluccas. It has, however, comparatively lately, been ascertained to
be a native of Luzon in the Philippine archipelago ; and from that fact it is assumed that it is
not found on any of the Moluccas. So far as known at present, the species seems to be restricted
to the island named above.
2. Hydrocorax mindanensis. Mindanao, Philippine Islands.
3. Hydrocorax semigaleatus. Leyte, Philippine Islands.
5. Rhinoplax.
Mange of the Genus.
Oriental Region.
Mange of the Species.
1. Mhinoplax vigil. Malay peninsula ; Sumatra ; Borneo.
6. Anthracoceros.
Mange of the Genus.
Oriental Region.
INTRODUCTION.
XXIX
Bange of the Species.
1. Anthracoceros coronatus. Peninsula of India ; Ceylon.
2. Anthracoceros malabaricus. Northern India ; Nepaul ; Bengal ; Birmah ; Assam and
Tenasserim.
3. Anthracoceros f rater cuius. Cochin China.
4. Anthracoceros convexus. Java ; Borneo ; Sumatra (Ramsay, P. Z. S. 1880, p. 14).
5. Anthracoceros malay anus. Malay peninsula ; Sumatra; Borneo.
7. Cranorrhinus.
Range of the Genus.
Oriental and Australian Regions.
Range of the Species.
1. Cranorrhmus cassidix. Celebes.
2. Cranorrhinus corrugatus. Sumatra ; Borneo.
3. Cranorrhinus waldeni. Panay, Philippines.
4. Cranorrhinus leucocephalus. Mindanao, Philippines.
8. Penelopides.
Range of the Genus.
Oriental Region.
Range of the Species.
1. Penelopides panini. Guimaras, Panay, Philippines.
2. Penelopides manillce. Luzon, Philippines.
3. JPenelopides afflnis. Mindanao, Philippines.
9. Ceratogymna.
Range of the Genus.
Ethiopian Region.
Range of the Species.
1. Ceratogymna elata. Sierra Leone to the Gaboon.
10. Sphagolobtjs.
Range of the Genus.
Ethiopian Region.
Range of the Species.
1. Sphagolobus atratus. Ashantee to Eernando Po.
!
I
".:Ir .
M IMIW
xxx INTRODUCTION.
11. LlMONOPHALUS.
Range of the Genus.
Oriental Region.
Range of the Species.
1. Limonophalus montani. Sooloo archipelago.
12. Bycanistes.
Range of the Genus.
Ethiopian Region.
Range of the Species.
1. JBycanistes cristatus. Abyssinia ; Zambesi district. Exact range unknown.
2. JBycanistes buccinator. Zambesi ; Caffraria.
3. Rycanistes subquadratus. Angola.
4 Bycanistes subcylindricus. Gor; Aju; Central Africa.
5. JBycanistes cylindricus. Ashantee ; Eantee.
6. JBycanistes albotibialis. Gaboon.
13. Pholidophalus.
Range of the Genus.
Ethiopian Region.
Range of the Species.
1. Pholidophalus fistutator. Eantee; Senegal to the Gaboon.
2. JPholidophalus sharpii. Angola.
3. JPholidophalus casuarinus. ?
14. Aceros.
Uange of the Genus.
Oriental Region.
Range of the Species.
L Aceros nepalensis. South-east Himalayas ; hill region of Assam ; Tenasserim provinces.
15. RlIYTIDOCEEOS.
Range of the Genus.
Oriental and Australian Regions,
INTRODUCTION.
XXXI
Range of the Species.
1. Rhytidoceros undulatus. Malay peninsula ; Sumatra; Java.
2. Rhytidoceros subruficollis. Arakan ; Tenasserim provinces.
3. Rhytidoceros plicatus* . Ceram; Mysol; New Guinea; Solomon Islands.
4. Rhytidoceros narcondami. Island of Narcondam.
16. Anoeehintts.
Range of the Genus.
Oriental and Ethiopian Regions.
Range of the Species.
1. Anorrhinus comatus. Malay peninsula ; Sumatra.
2. Anorrhinus albocristatus. Sierra Leone to the Gaboon.
3. Anorrhinus leucolophus. Eantee.
4. Anorrhinus galeritus. Malay peninsula.
5. Anorrhinus tickelli. Tenasserim hills.
6. Anorrhinus austeni. North Cachar hills.
17. Hydeocissa.
Range of the Genus.
Australian Region.
Range of the Species.
1. Hydrocissa exarhata. Celebes.
18. Lophoceeos.
Range of the Genus.
Oriental and Ethiopian Regions.
Range of the Species.
1. Lophoceros nasutus. Senegambia ; Damaraiand ; Abyssinia ; Sennaar ; Limpopo river
2. Lophoceros birostris. India generally.
f
19. Tockus.
Range of the Genus.
Oriental and Ethiopian Regions.
* In the article on this species the first line should read, " This bird was separated from the well-known
R. undulatus, Shaw'' — not R. plicatus, Forst.
• ■ w w w\
■ UUIII I I W
XXX11
INTRODUCTION.
Bange of the Species.
1. Tockus melanoleucus. Angola ; Ovampoland ; river Shire to 5° south of the equator.
2. Tockus fasciatus. Angola.
3. Tockus semifasciatus. Senegambia ; Fantee.
4. Tockus flavirostris. Damaraland; Abyssinia.
5. Tockus hemprichii. Abyssinia.
6. Tockus monteiri. Damaraland.
7. Tockus gingalensis. Ceylon.
8. Tockus erythrorhynchus. Damaraland ; Okovango river ; Lake Ngami.
9. Tockus deckeni. Voi-Fluss ; Taita, East Africa.
10. Tockus griseus. Malabar.
11. Tockus Jiartlaubi. Gold Coast.
12. Tockus camurus. Gold Coast to Gaboon.
LIST OF PLATES.
1. Bucorvus abyssinicus
2. Bucorvus pyrrhops .
3. Bucorvus cafer . .
4. Buceros rhinoceros .
5. Buceros sylvestris .
6. Dichoceros bicornis
7. Hydrocorax planicornis
8. Hydrocorax mindanensis
9. Hydrocorax semigaleatus,
10. B.hinoplax vigil . . .
11. Anthracoceros coronatus
12. Anthracoceros convexus
13. Anthracoceros malabaricus
14. Anthracoceros fraterculus
15. Anthracoceros malayanus
16. Cranorrhinus cassidix . .
17. Cranorrhinus eorrugatus .
18. Cranorrhinus waldeni . .
19. Cranorrhinus leucocephalus
20. Penelopides manillse . .
21. Penelopides panini . . .
22. Penelopides affinis . . .
23. Ceratogymna elata . . .
24. Sphagolobus atratus . .
25. Limonophalus montani .
26. Bycanistes cristatus . .
27. Bycanistes buccinator . .
28. Bycanistes subquadratus .
29. Bycanistes subcylindricus
30. Bycanistes cylindricus. .
Plate L
II.
III.
IV.
Y.
VI.
VII.
VIII.
IX.
X.
XL
XII.
XIII.
XIV.
XV.
XVI.
XVII.
XVIII.
XIX.
XX.
XXI.
XXII.
XXIII.
XXIV.
XXV.
XXVI.
XXVII.
XXVIII.
XXIX.
XXX.
31.
Bycanistes albotibialis . .
Plate XXXI.
32.
Pholidophalus fistulator .
XXXII.
33.
Pholidophalus sharpii . .
XXXIII.
34.
Pholidophalus casuarinus .
XXXIV.
35.
Rhytidoceros undulatus .
XXXV.
36.
Bliytidoceros subruficollis
XXXVI.
37.
Bhytidoceros plicatus . .
. XXXVII.
38.
Bhytidoceros narcondami .
. XXXVIII.
39.
Anorrhinus comatus . .
. XXXIX.
40.
Anorrhinus albocristatus . .
XL.
41.
Anorrhinus leucolophus . .
XLI.
42.
Anorrhinus galeritus . . .
XLII.
43.
Anorrhinus tickelli . . . .
XLIII.
44.
Anorrhinus austeni . . .
XLIV.
45.
Aceros nepalensis . . .
XLV.
46.
Hydrocissa exarrhata .
XLVI.
47.
Lophoceros nasutus . . . .
XLVII.
48.
Lophoceros birostris . . .
XLVIII.
49.
Tockus melanoleucus . . .
XLIX.
50.
Tockus fasciatus
} -
51.
Tockus semifasciatus . . ,
52.
Tockus flavirostris . . .
LI.
53.
Tockus heniprichii . . .
LII.
54.
Tockus monteiri
LIIL
55.
Tockus griseus
LIV.
56.
Tockus gingalensis . . .
LV.
57.
Tockus erythrorhynchus .
LVI.
58.
Tockus deckeni
LVII.
59.
Tockus hartlaubi ....
LVIII.
60.
Tockus camurus
LIX.
£,>4tAJLjL
.
TO THE BINDER.
The page with the definition of subfamily Bucorvin^ to go before the Plate of Bucorvtts
abyssinictjs, and that with the definition of the subfamily Btjcerotinje to go before the Plate
Of BlJCEROS RHINOCEROS.
The volume to be bound as follows : —
Titlepage.
Dedication.
Preface.
Introduction.
List of Plates.
Generic Plates, with description of Genera.
Description of Subfamilies as stated above.
Plates and text according to the List of Plates.
J
J. Sirnt lith
Hanlta-rt imf
1 BUC0RVUSABYSS1NICUS. 5 RHINOPLAK VIGIL
2 „ RHINOCEROS 6 ANTHRACOCEROS CORONATES
3 DICHOCEROS BICORNIS 7 CRANORRHINUS CASSIDIX
4- HYDROCORAX PLANICORNIS 8 PENELOPIDES MANILLA .
9 CERAT GYMNA ELATA
GENERIC CHARACTERS
Family BUCEB0TXM2.
Subfamily Bucorvinae.
Genus I. BUCORVUS.
Head crested. Nude skin around the eyes, on sides of neck, and throat, with a pendent
nude gular pouch. Bill long, powerful, curved, terminating in a sharp point. Nostrils basal,
exposed. Casque large, extending from base of culmen for about one third its length, rising
considerably above the maxilla, curved or straight, and open or closed anteriorly. Wings ample,
reaching one third the length of the tail. Fifth primary longest, fourth and sixth next longest
and equal. Tail long, ample, rounded. Legs long ; tarsi covered with scales ; toes rather short ;
claws short, strong.
Subfamily Bucerotinse.
Genus I. BUCEROS.
Head slightly crested. Nude skin around eye. Bill long, powerful, terminating in a sharp
point ; culmen much curved. Casque very large, two thirds the length of the bill, rounded
on the upper edge, straight, or much curved upward anteriorly. Nostrils small, basal, lateral,
and hidden. Wings rather short ; fourth and fifth primaries nearly equal and longest. Tail
long, rounded. Tarsi short, robust, covered with strong broad scales. Toes of moderate length,
the outer and inner ones united at base. Claws strong, curved, acute.
Genus II. DICHOCEROS.
Eeathers on occiput moderately lengthened. Bill very long, stout, powerful, pointed at tip ;
culmen and gonys much decurved. Casque very broad, covering basal half of culmen, flat,
concave anteriorly, with the corners turned slightly upwards into miniature horns projecting
forwards. Nostrils small, basal, open. Bare skin around eyes. Wings ample, reaching one
third the length of the rectrices. Tail long, broad, rounded. Tarsi short, stout, covered with
large scales. Toes short, united at base by a membrane. Claws strong, acute.
Genus III. HYDROCORAX.
Head moderate, crested. Bill rather short, stout, pointed, much curved toward the tip.
Casque extending two thirds the length of the maxilla, flat, wide at the posterior end, rather
pointed anteriorly. Nostrils basal, small. Nude skin around eyes. Wings ample, rather long ;
fourth, fifth, and sixth primaries equal and longest. Tail long and rounded. Tarsi short,
stout, covered with strong scales. Claws strong, curved, acute.
Genus IV. RHINOPLAX.
Occiput crested. Eace, throat, neck, and spot on centre of back naked. Bill short, straight,
stout, pointed. Casque solid, covering half the maxilla, broad on its anterior face, curved on
":."_- .
m^r»wi
GENERIC CHARACTERS.
top, extends over the eyes, and returns to the base of the maxilla by a moderate curve. Nostrils
basal, exposed. Wings long, reaching a short distance beyond the upper tail-coverts. Tail long,
much rounded ; two median rectrices twice the length of the rest. Tarsi short, stout, covered
with strong scales. Toes stout. Claws strong, curved.
Genus V. ANTHRACOCEEOS.
Head covered by a lengthened crest. Skin around eyes and space at base of mandible nude.
Bill long, abruptly curved at tip. Casque covers two thirds the length of maxilla, is compressed
laterally, extends over the head to above the eyes, and curving forwards returns to culmen by
an acute angle. Nostril on top of maxilla, at base of casque, small, round, exposed. Wings
moderate ; secondaries as long as primaries ; third primary longest. Tail long, much rounded.
Tarsi short, stout, covered with strong scales. Toes short, stout. Claws curved, strong.
Genus VI. CBANORKHINUS.
Skin around eyes and on throat bare. Bill long, rather slender, graduating to a sharp
point, crossed at base by several prominent transverse ridges. Casque high, upright, keel-
shaped, swollen posteriorly, flattened anteriorly, covering nearly half the maxilla; curves
gradually from the highest point of the anterior terminus, backwards to centre of the head.
Wings ample ; secondaries nearly as long as the primaries. Tail long, rounded. Tarsi and
toes short, stout, covered with strong scales. Claws stout and acute.
Genus VII. PENELOPIDES.
Head covered by a lengthened crest. Bill rather short ; base covered by a plate, on the
maxilla with broad transverse grooves, on the mandible with narrow diagonal grooves. Casque
low, compressed laterally ; rises at base and extends for two thirds the length of maxilla, and
terminates abruptly at a right angle to the culmen. Bare skin around eyes and at base of
mandible. Wings long ; fourth primary longest ; first primary falcate. Tail long, slightly
rounded. Tarsi and toes short, stout, covered with strong scales ; outer and inner toes united
at base. Claws strong, curved, acute.
Genus VIII. CEEATOGYMNA.
Occiput crested. Side of face around the eye, throat and front of neck, with the exception
of a narrow line in the centre covered with short feathers, and large gular pouch naked. Bill
rather stout, very short. Culmen curved, especially at the apical third. Gonys nearly straight
until within a short distance of the tip, where it curves downward. Casque very large, flat on
its anterior face, keel-shaped on top, and swollen towards its posterior margin ; highest in front,
it curves rapidly downwards to above the eyes ; several longitudinal grooves run along the sides.
Wings ample, rather short. Tail long, much rounded. Tarsi and toes stout, short, strong.
Genus IX. SPHAGOLOBUS.
Head covered by a long bushy crest. Skin around eyes, sides of face, throat, and gular
pouch naked. Bill rather short, stout, pointed. Maxilla curved ; gonys nearly straight. Casque
very large, swollen laterally and rounded on top ; rises from the maxilla about one third its length
from the tip at a rather acute angle, curves backwards over the head, and returns to the maxilla
at a sharp angle. Wings rather long. Tail long, slightly rounded. Tarsi short, stout. Toes
rather long, stout. Claws strong, acute.
lk
J. Smib-lifcfa
1. SPHAC0LOBU5 ATRATRS
2. BYCARISTES BUCCINATOR
3. LIMOROPHALUS MOKTANI
4. PHOLIDOPHALUS EISTULATOR
5. RHYTIDOCEROS UHDULATUS
6 ANORRHTRUS CALERITUS.
7 AC EROS NIPALENSAS
8 HYDROCISSA ENARHATUS.
9 LOPHOCEROS RASUTUS
10 TORUS ERYTHRORHYNCHUS
jja * -I rat
GENERIC CHARACTERS
Genus X. LIMONOPHALUS.
Head and occiput crested. Nude skin around eyes. Bill long, curved, stout, broad at base.
Casque high, keel-shaped, smooth, commencing above the eyes, curving gradually forwards for
two thirds the length of bill, and terminating at a right angle to the culmen, swollen posteriorly,
compressed laterally, sharp at its anterior edge. Wings ample, but rather short. Tail long,
broad, rounded, the outermost rectrices on either side much shorter than the middle ones. Eeet
stout; claws strong.
Genus XI. BYCANISTES.
Head covered by a long loose crest. Bill rather short, strong. Culmen curved to the tip.
Gonys straight for two thirds the length from base ; it then turns abruptly upwards, and follows
the curve of the gape to the point. Casque enormous, longer than bill, swollen and rounded
on top, compressed anteriorly, having several irregular transverse grooves ; it rises a short
distance from tip of maxilla at an acute angle, then curves backwards to the centre of the head,
and returns to base of maxilla by a steep angle. Wings ample, long, second and third primaries
equal and longest. Tail broad, long, much rounded. Nude skin around eyes. Tarsi short,
stout, as are the toes, and both covered with strong scales.
Genus XII. PH O LID OPH ALUS.
Head crested. Bill short, stout, pointed. Mandible with several irregular narrow transverse
grooves. Casque very low, covering base of maxilla, ridged transversely, and falling away
posteriorly into the culmen. Wings rather short ; third and fourth primaries nearly equal and
longest. Tail rather long, much rounded. Tarsi and toes short, covered with strong scales.
Genus XIII. BHYTIDOCEBOS.
Bill long, nearly straight, graduated to a point. Base of maxilla and mandible grooved
transversely. Culmen covered for nearly half its basal length by a casque-like protuberance,
apparently formed of large scales overlapping each other. Skin around eyes and on throat nude.
Wings ample. Tail long and rounded. Tarsi short, stout. Toes rather long. Claws strong,
curved.
Genus XIV. ANOKRHINUS.
Head covered by a long loose bushy crest. Bill moderately long, stout, curved on culmen.
Casque extending over half the maxilla, highest at its anterior end, whence it inclines gradually
backward to the base of bill. Skin around eyes, cheeks, and throat naked. Wings long ; fourth
primary longest ; secondaries nearly as long as the primaries. Tail long, broad, and rounded.
Tarsi stout, short. Toes moderately long. Claws curved, acute.
"" :iv. ':;:
GENERIC CHARACTERS.
Genus XV. ACEROS.
Head crested. Bill long, rather narrow, tapering to a point. Culmen swollen and slightly
elevated at base. Casque none. Maxilla at base ridged, with several transverse grooves. Nude
skin around eyes, at base of mandible, and on throat. Wings long; third, fourth, and fifth
primaries nearly equal and longest. Tail long, slightly rounded. Tarsi rather short and stout.
Toes long, covered with strong scales.
Genus XVI. HYDROCISSA.
Head slightly crested. Bill moderately long, curved, sharply pointed. Casque low, covers
the entire culmen to within an inch of the tip of the maxilla, compressed laterally, and indented
by three deep grooves for its entire length. Nude skin around eyes. Wings short. Tail rather
short, rounded. Tarsi and toes short, stout, covered with strong scales.
Genus XVII. LOPHOCEROS.
Head with a short occipital crest. Bill long, curved, slender, graduated to a sharp point.
Nostril round, open, and exposed. A small casque commences at base of culmen, and extends for
a little over half its length, terminating in a projecting point. Wings long ; third primary
longest; first primary very short and narrow. Tail long, slightly rounded. Tarsi and toes
short, stout, covered with strong scales.
Genus XVIII. TOCKUS.
Bill long, slender, much curved ; maxilla compressed laterally along the culmen. N o casque.
Wings and tail long, the latter rounded. Tarsi and toes short, stout, covered with rather strong
scales. Claws curved, strong, acute.
Subfamily BUCORVINyE
ih
Bill long, powerful, curved, terminating in a sharp point. Casque high, and, with the
exception of one species, open in front. Skin around eyes, on sides of neck, throat, and gular
pouch naked. Wings reaching one third the length of the tail. Legs long, fitted for walking
on the ground, upon which the species pass nearly all their time. Toes short and stout.
The semitendinous and accessory semitendinous muscles of the thigh are represented ; but the
ambiens, femoro -caudal, and the accessory femoro-caudal are absent. The species are essentially
birds which live upon the ground.
J
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■ »■».**»
BUCORVUS ABYSSINICUS
GEOTJND-HOENBILL.
a. BUCORVUS ABYSSINICUS.
Buceros abyssinicus, Bodd. Tab. Plan. Enlum. d'Auben. (no. 779) ; Gmel. ed. Linn. Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 358. sp. 5
(1788) ; Lath. Gen. Syn. (1781) vol. i. p. 347. sp. 4; id. Ind. Ornith. (1790) vol. i. p. 143. sp. 4; id. 2nd
Supp. (1801) p. 99; Shaw, Gen. Zool. (1811) vol. viii. p. 21; Temm. Plan. Col. (1824) vol. ii. sp. 5 (text)
Vieill. Gal. Ois. vol. i. p. 321, t. 191; Sclat. Proc. Zool. Soc. (1865) p. 676; Bald. Nanm. (1857) p. 109
Nitzs. Pterylog. Ray Soc. (1867) p. 102, pi. vi. figs. 1 & 2; Giebel, Thesaur. Ornith. vol. i. p. 495 (1872)
Vieill. Ency. Method, vol. i. p. 302 (1823) ; Heugl. Journ, fiir Ornith. (1864) p. 270; Vieill. Nonv. Diet
Hist. Nat. vol. iv. p. 589 (1816) ; Bocage, Jorn. Sc. Math. Lisb. vol. ii. p. 347. sp. 96 (1868) ; Eyton, Ost,
Av. p. 63(1867).
Grand Calao d'Abyssinie, Buff. Plan. Enlum. (1783) no. 779, juv. ?
Le Calao caruncule, Levaill. Hist. Nat. Ois. d'Afr. (1806) vol. v. p. 109, pis. 230, 231 (adults), 232 (juv.).
Buceros africanus, Lath. Ind. Ornith. (1790) vol. i. p. 143. sp. 5; Vieill. Nouv. Diet. Hist. Nat. (1816) vol. iv.
p. 591 ; id. Ency. Method. (1823) p. 303.
Buceros brae, Dumont, Diet. Sc. Nat. (1817) vol. vi. p. 201.
Bucorvus abyssinicus, Less. Trait. Ornith. (1831) p. 256; G. R. Gray, Gen. Birds (1849) vol. ii. p. 400. sp. 1;
Layard, B. of S. Afr. (1867) p. 228; Horsf. & Moore, Cat. B. Mus. E.-Ind. Co. (1856) vol. ii. p. 581; Sclat.
Proc. Zool. Soc. (1864) p. Ill; Gurney, Ibis (1868) p. 162; Ayres, Ibis (1869) p. 296; Bon. Consp. Gen.
Av. (1850) p. 89. sp. 1; id. Consp. Vol. Anisod. (1854) p. 2; G. R. Gray, Hand-1. Birds (1870), pt. ii.
p. 131. sp. 7919; Blanf. Geol. & Zool. Abyss. (1870) p. 320; Salvad. Cat. Uccelli Mar. Rosso e dei Bogos
(1873) p. 57 (420).
Tragopan abyssinicus, Gray, List Gen. B. (1841) p. 65; Riipp. Syst. Ubers. (1845) p. 79. sp. 320; Heugl. Syst.
Ubers. p. 45. sp. 456.
Tmetoceros abyssinicus, Cab. & Hein. Mus. Hein. (1860) Th. ii. p. 175. no. 481 ; Finsch & Hartl. Reis. Ost-Afr.
(1867) p. 480.
Buceros carunculatus abyssinicus, Schleg. Mus. Pays-Bas (1862) p. 19.
Bucorax abyssinicus, Kirk, Ibis (1864) p. 325; Bocage, Proc. Zool. Soc. (1873) pp. 698-700, figs. 1 & 4; Sundev.
Ofver. Kongl. Vetens. Akad. Eorh. (1849) p. 161.
Bucorax cafer, Lay. B. of S. Afr., Sharpe ed. p. 122. sp. 116 (reference to pis.).
Abba Gumba (Bruce).
Casque large, high, much curved on top, horn-shaped ; large circular opening in front,
Hab. Abyssinia (Ruppell., Blanford) ; Zambesi region (Kirk ?) ; Natal (Ayres ?) .
b. BUCORVUS GUINEENSIS.
Bucorax abyssinicus, Hartl. Ornith. West-Afr. (1857) p. 165; Monteiro, Ibis (1862) p. 338. sp. 37; Gurney, Ibis
(1861) p. 132 ?
Buceros carunculatus guineensis, Schleg. Mus. Pays-Bas (1862) p. 20.
Bucorvus abyssinicus, Sharpe, Ibis (1869), p. 385 ; Reichenow, Journ. fur Ornith. (1875) pp. 12, 49?
Buceros abyssinicus, Gurney, Anderss. B. of Damara-Land (1872) p. 205.
Bucorax cafer, Bar. du Bocage, Proc. Zool. Soc. (1873) p. 698, figs. 2, 6 (adults), fig, 5 (juv.).
JUV.
Casque small, straight on top, tube-shaped ; small oblong opening in front.
Hab. Gold Coast (Schlegel) ; Sennaar (Baldamus?); Damara-Land (Anderss.?); Angola (Monteiro?).
c. BUCORVUS CAFFER.
Buceros carunculatus cafer, Schleg. Mus. Pays-Bas (1862) p. 20.
Bucorvus leadbeateri, Gray, Hand-1. Birds, pt. ii. (1870) p. 131. sp. 7920.
Bucorax guineensis, Bocage, Proc. Zool. Soc. (1873) p. 699, 701, figs. 3 & 7 (juv.)
Casque small, excessively compressed, completely closed in front.
Hab. Caffraria (Schlegel); Mossamedes (Anchieta).
There appear to be three forms or geographical races of this species, exhibiting their characters
chiefly in the shape of the casque. Some writers have considered these differences sufficient to
establish separate specific ranks, while others regard them as merely indicating age or possibly
sex. While our material is not ample enough for us to determine positively that there is more
than one species of the Ground-Hornbill, yet we certainly are able to decide that the differences
met with in the form of the casque of individuals are not those belonging solely to young birds or
characteristic of sex. I have therefore preferred in this paper to keep the three forms as distinct
in their synonymy as I may have been able, but to consider all three as but geographical races of
one variable species. Prof. Schlegel was the first to draw attention to the shapes of the various
casques, and gave names to the possessors of them as follows : those individuals which have a high
horn-like casque and a large round opening in front he called Buceros carunculatus abyssinicus,
this being the typical Buceros abyssinicus of authors; those with a smaller, straighter casque, and
a small opening in front, he named Buceros carunculatus guineensis, and for the third, with an
exceedingly compressed casque, entirely closed in front, he proposed the appellation of Buceros
carunculatus cafer. These three conspecies of the Professor inhabit respectively Eastern Africa
north of Caffraria (rare in Sennaar), Western Africa, and Caffraria. Prof. Barboza du Bocage, in
the ' Proceedings ' of the Zoological Society of London for 1873, p. 698, has published a
very interesting paper on these three varieties, and decides that two are certainly distinct, but
that the third is still doubtful from want of sufficient material to enable him to form a judgment.
He figures the heads of the three styles, and exhibits fairly their different characters. Unfor-
tunately the names of two are transposed, and the B. guineensis (Schlegel) with the small casque
is called cafer, and the B. cafer (Schlegel) with the closed casque is named B. guineensis. In
attempting to define the geographical distribution of these three species (if they really are such),
we are at once met with several awkward facts, which, with our present knowledge, can
hardly reconcile ornithologists to the belief that these forms are really specifically distinct.
To indicate what this difficulty is, I will give the distribution of the species as laid down by
Professors Schlegel and Bocage. The B. abyssinicus (typical) inhabits Abyssinia 5 according to
Schlegel, rare in Sennaar. Layard {fide B. of S. Africa) gives it as found in the Cape colony.
The B. cafer (Schlegel) inhabits CafFraria; and, as given by Prof. Bocage (if the name has not
been transposed), the same bird, called by him guineensis, was procured on the coast of Guinea,
thus making it range across the continent. If these birds are distinct, we have an extraordinary
geographical distribution for continental forms, as B. abyssinicus of Abyssinia is thus cut off from
its relatives in South Africa by B. cafer, which crosses the continent in the region of the Limpopo
river and Damaraland. If the distribution of the forms as here given is correct, I shall not be
able to reconcile myself to the belief that there are three distinct species of this bird until more
information is obtained respecting them, and the boundaries of each one are definitely fixed ; for
it would seem at least strange that on a continent one species should inhabit the northern and
southern portions, and the central part be occupied by a totally different species, and yet each keep
their respective characters intact ; for there must of necessity be many points where individuals of
the two forms would meet and, in such closely allied birds as these under consideration might not
unnaturally interbreed. A possible solution of the difficulty may be, that Layard did not describe
his JB. abyssinicus from a South-African specimen, as he states he never succeeded in getting one
while there, supposing, like most authors, that there was only one species, and that Prof. Bocage's
B. cafer, in his paper in the c Proceedings ' of the Zoological Society, was really intended for
B. guineensis. In such a case, we should have the range of the forms as follows : — B. abyssinicus
from East Africa, Abyssinia, and Sennaar ; B. guineensis from Acra, West Africa ; and B. cafer
from all the region south of and including Damaraland and the Zambesi district. I have not
been able to examine an authentic adult South- African specimen.
I have found some considerable difficulty in working out the synonymy of the three forms as
presented here, because of course I have not had access to the specimens mentioned by the various
writers ; but I believe that, in the main, they will be found to be tolerably correct.
The Ground-Hornbill, although a frequenter of plains, is also a mountain-loving species, and
has been met with at a considerable height above the sea ; for, as stated by Blanford in his
' Zoology of Abyssinia/ it is chiefly found in that country at an elevation of from 4000-5000 feet,
although also met with lower down. Monteiro, who procured the bird in Angola, states it to be
everywhere present in that land, but more abundant in the interior, and very common on the
mountain-range where Pungo Andongo is situated. Por some unexplained reason, this species is
an object of superstitious dread to the natives of the various countries it inhabits. Monteiro was
unable to induce them to attempt its capture ; and on Andersson's asking a chief in Ondonga to
get him the eggs, he received the reply that it was not to be done, as they were soft to the touch
and would break in pieces on the least handling. The Pingoes, says Layard, object to shoot them,
lest they should lose their cattle by disease.
The food of this Hornbill appears to consist of almost any thing edible that falls in its way.
In Abyssinia Blanford found it to be almost entirely insectivorous, the stomachs of those he
examined containing chiefly large beetles and locusts, in one instance the remains of scorpions
and large spiders. In a certain case, however, he found fragments of bones, apparently of a
tortoise. Once he observed this bird near some mule-carcasses, but not feeding on them, so far
as he could see. In Angola, Monteiro found them to be omnivorous, feeding upon reptiles,
■Eg
.;
birds, eggs, beetles and all other insects, and also on the mandioca-roots and ginguba, or ground-
nuts. In confinement, he says, it would readily eat fish and entrails of fowls ; and once one of
these birds, meeting some young chickens in the yard, immediately gulped down five or six of
them. The Abba Gumba (by which name this species is known) feeds readily upon snakes ; and
their mode of attacking these, as related by Mr. Ayres, is peculiar. When a large serpent is
discovered, three or four of the birds stretch out their wings and advance sideways towards it.
The reptile, becoming irritated, seizes one by the wing-feathers, when all close around and strike
the snake with their powerful bills, retreating as soon as it leaves its hold. This proceeding is
repeated until their enemy is dead. Should the reptile attack them, they throw both wings
forward, completely covering their heads and other vulnerable parts. Two or three kinds of land-
tortoises frequenting the district of the Limpopo river are eaten by this Hornbill, which neatly
pecks out every portion of flesh from the shell, leaving it quite clean, even eating the legs and
head of the unfortunate creature. According to Layard, this species feeds on carrion ; and their
bodies emit such a stench in consequence that he never could induce any of his correspondents
to send him one. They also devour great quantities of grubs and locusts. The flight is heavy,
rather feeble, and somewhat noisy, and rarely prolonged for more than half a mile. The voice
of this bird is an extraordinary one, very deep and powerful, composed, according to Blanford,
of two notes — one, uttered chiefly on the ground, resembling the syllables hum-hum, the first
higher and longer than the last. The second note was a peculiar booming sound, so much like
the roar of the lion that it was with difficulty the two could be distinguished apart. They utter
this noise both when on the ground and on the trees, and it can be heard for a considerable
distance, particularly at night. Ayres compares the notes to the syllables coo-coo, and says that
he has heard it at a distance of nearly two miles. The call of the female is similar to that of the
male, but pitched a note or two higher. The male always calls first, the female immediately
answering ; and this is continued at intervals while they are feeding.
The Ground-Hornbill is gregarious, going in flocks of from live or six individuals up to one
or two hundred, as stated by Monteiro. They are usually very shy and wild, and when alarmed
fly to the nearest trees, choosing those with the densest foliage, where they squat on the branches
or stand upright, quite motionless, with open bills. As soon as the object of their fears is
discovered, the usual cry is uttered by one of them, and all fly away to another tree. When
on the ground, and the grass is short, it is almost impossible to approach them. At a distance
they greatly resemble turkeys ; and the males have the habit of raising, then opening, and closing
their tails exactly like those birds ; the red wattle on the neck is also inflated, and becomes very
conspicuous. Although this species walks well, its gait is awkward, and it presents a curious
appearance as it goes slowly along, looking for food, turning over lumps of earth in search of
insects, or poking its bill at any frog or other reptile that it may meet. While the ground is the
chief resort of this species, over which Andersson says he has seen individuals running at a great
rate, yet at night it is accustomed invariably to resort to the trees to roost. This species does not,
I believe, incubate in the holes of trees, like other members of this family, but, according to
Monteiro, the nest is built on the very highest Adansonice, in the hollow or cavity formed at the
base or junction of the branches.
■
Bill long, curved, black, with a large red spot at base of maxilla. A curved casque rises at
base of culmen, and has a round opening in front ; the sides are grooved, these following the
curve of the casque ; as this grows from behind, it sheds off in front portions in the shape of ring's
and in this way retains a regular length. The entire plumage is black, with the exception of the
primaries, which are buff. A bare skin around the eye, continuing to the throat and part of
the neck in front, is deep blue, bordered on its outer edges along the neck with scarlet and
terminating in a kind of scarlet bag at its lowest portion. Tarsi long and, with the feet, blackish
Bill 9J inches, casque 3 J, height 2 ; wing 21 ■; tail 14 ; tarsus 6.
The B. guineemis of Schlegel differs in being smaller, the casque slightly closed in front •
wing 18 inches ; tail 11 ; tarsus 4f-5 ; bill along gape 6§ , casque 1 inch 10 lines, height If inch'
The B. cafer has the casque entirely closed in front. Length of bill 6f-7f inches, casque
1 inch 11 lines, height 11-12 lines.
My thanks are due to the Publication Committee of the Zoological Society of London and to
Prof. Bocage for permission to use the woodcuts that illustrate this article.
The figures are one third the natural size.
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BUCORVUS PYRRHOPS.
EED-FACED GEOUND-HOENBILL,
Bucorvus pyrrhops, Elliot, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. (September 1877) vol. xx. p. 171.
Hab. Region of the Congo, Cachen ?
In my article on Bucorvus abyssinicus I placed as races the two forms of Ground-Hornbills
called respectively by Prof. Schlegel Buceros carunculatus guineensis and B. carunculatus cafer.
Subsequent to the publication of the Part which contained B. abyssinicus, Mr. Keulemans
sent me a sketch of the head and neck of a Ground-Hornbill which he had met with in the
Zoological Gardens at Amsterdam, that differed from any thing I had ever seen as regarded the
shape and coloration of the bare skin of the head and neck, as well as in the form of the casque.
The bird was fully adult, and had been received, as I was informed by Mons. A. von Bemmelen,
the Director of the Rotterdam Gardens, from the region of the river Congo. Satisfied that the
individual represented an unknown species, I described it in the 6 Annals and Magazine of
Natural History/ as given above. The only form of Ground Hornbill that has received a name
with which the present can be compared, is the B. carunculatus guineensis, Schlegel. The type
of this last-named style is an immature bird; that is to say, the casque is not more than half
developed; yet even now the greatly curved form of the upper outline is plainly discernible,
showing that when the casque has attained its full growth it will not differ in shape from that of
the well-known B. abyssinicus. Prof. Schlegel, when writing to me lately about these birds, gave
in his letter the comparative differences which he observed in the separate forms named by him ;
and he thus distinguishes guineensis :—" Casque as in abyssinicus, but the whole bird smaller,
plaque light brown." The difference of size is hardly sufficient to constitute a specific difference;
and I therefore regard B. guineensis, Schlegel, as properly a synonym of the B. abyssinicus.
This therefore reduces the number of Ground-Hornbills to three species instead of four, as given
by me in the table accompanying the description of the present species in the ' Annals and
Magazine of Natural History.' By the kindness of Prof. Barboza du Bocage I am in possession
of a sketch of the head of a Ground-Hornbill, received at the Lisbon Museum from Cachen, West
Africa, referred by the Professor to B. guineensis, Schlegel. The head is unfortunately that of a
young bird ; but the casque, although already open in front, has its upper outline nearly straight,
as is seen in B. pyrrhops, and of quite a different form from that exhibited by the type of
B. guineensis, Schlegel. I am inclined to consider this bird the young of B. pyrrhops. The
present species differs from all others of this genus in the shape of its casque, which is nearly
straight above, with a large opening in front, somewhat resembling a neur-de-lys in outline. The
(
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I
colouring and shape of the bare skin on the head and neck are quite different from those of any other
species known to me. The type at Rotterdam is the only example yet brought to Europe, so far as I
am aware, unless my supposition should prove correct that the guineensis of Bocage (nee Schlegel) is
the same species. With the slight knowledge yet possessed of the present species, it is impossible
to give more than an approximate idea of its habitat. It probably, however, ranges upon the
west coast of Africa, between the habitat of B. abyssinicus on the north and that of B. cafer on
the south ; but how far it may extend into the interior of the continent I have not at present any
means of ascertaining. The type, although it has not been very long in captivity, is very gentle,
and is greatly pleased when taken into any person's arms and its head is rubbed. Within the
gular pouch, at its lower extremity, a hard round substance can be felt, which is capable of
being moved upwards as far as the red skin extends.
Adult.— Bill black, with an orange- coloured plate on the side of the maxilla near the base,
as in B. abyssinicus. Casque, rising from base of maxilla, extends backwards over the eye, and
then inclines forwards (nearly straight on top), terminating in a wide opening in front, similar to
that in B. abyssinicus, but smaller. Space around the eye, and extending backwards nearly to
the occiput, bare of feathers, which, together with that beneath the feathers on the forehead, is
orange-red. Bare skin on the sides of the neck and throat dark blue. Gular sac orange-yellow
in front, orange-red behind, this latter colour running up for a short distance on the posterior side
of the blue skin of the neck. Entire plumage of body lustrous black ; primaries pure white ;
irides pearly white.
Length of bill from the angle of the mouth 6f inches, height of casque f , height of bill
without casque 1£, tail llf , tarsus 5 J.
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BUCORVUS CAFER
BUCORVUS CAFER.
CAFER GROTJND-HOENBILL.
Buceros abyssinicus cafer, Schleg. Mus. Pays-Bas, Buceros, p. 20.
Bucorvus abyssinicus, Gurn. (nee Gmel.), Anderss. B. Damara-1. p. 205 (1872).
Tmetoceros abyssinicus, Heugl. Orn. N.O.-Afr. p. 731 (1872); Finsch & Hartl. Vog. Ost-Afr. p. 480 (1867).
Bucoraoc abyssinicus, Boc. Jorn. Acad. Sc. Lisb. no. viii. (1870) p. 347.
Bucorax cafer, Boc. Proc. Zool. Soc. (1873) p. 698 ; id. Jorn. Acad. Sc. Lisboa, no. xvi. (1873) p. 284, no. xvii.
(1874) p. 57, no. xix. (1876) p. 149; id. Orn. Angola, p. Ill (1877) ; Sharpe in Lay. B. S. Afr. p. 122 (1875).
Mmungungo (adult) and Inaquendi (young), Natives of the Humbe (Anchieta).
Hab. Angola, Quillengues, Humbe (Anchieta) ; Damara Land (Andersson) ; Cafe-aria (Schlegel).
This species of Ground-Hornbill apparently represents the genus in South Africa, as its
range seems to be from Angola, through Damara Land, into Caffraria. The exact dispersion of the
species, or the extent of its range is not as yet thoroughly ascertained, as most writers have usually
considered that there was but one form of Ground-Hornbill, and therefore called all the three
species recognized in this work, abyssinicus, the name usually employed for the high opened-
casque bird only.
M. Anchieta, as quoted by Prof. Bocage in his work on the Ornithology of Angola, states
that when this species is walking along, the young go behind the adults at a respectful distance
and content themselves with seizing whatever may have escaped the voracity of their elders, and
therefore the natives believe that they are the slaves of the old ones, are obliged to follow them,
and eat whatever they may choose to leave. M. Anchieta also says that they go in small bands
and feed upon Coleopterous and other insects. They nest in holes of trees, and lay two eggs.
In Ondonga, according to Andersson, this species was common, but very wild ; and he had
also observed it in the desert near Okavango. They run very rapidly, but perch on trees when
flushed. In fact in its habits and economy this bird does not appear to differ in any way from
its relatives of the same genus in the northern part of the continent.
In appearance the Cafer Ground-Hornbill differs from the other forms of Bucorvus mainly in
the absence of the plaque at the base of the maxilla, and in the shape of the casque, which at all
ages is compressed and closed in front.
The general plumage is black with bronze reflections, the primaries white. Bare skin around
the eyes, throat, and gular pouch yellowish orange inclining somewhat to red, and occasionally
dotted with spots of blackish blue. Bill and casque black. Feet black. Iris pale greenish
yellow.
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Wing 19 to 21 inches, tail 11, tarsus 4|, bill 7.
In the young the general plumage is a reddish brown, and the primaries have a few brown
spots near their tips ; bill short and whitish ; casque very small and greatly compressed, black •
bare skin around eves and on the throat greenish grey. The gular pouch is wanting.
4 \m
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AumJUUM
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Subfamily BUCEROTINiE.
Bill generally powerful, covered with a casque or casque-like protuberance. Nude skin
nearly always present around the eyes, occasionally also at base of bill and on the throat, but
usually limited in extent. One species only has the face and neck bare. Wings broad and
ample. Tail generally long and rounded. Legs and feet short, only fitted for perching, the
species being incapable of walking, but progressing over the ground by awkward hops. The
members of this subfamily are tree-dwellers, and only occasionally leave their abode among
the branches to descend to the earth.
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BUCEROS RHINOCEROS
BHINOCEEOS HOKNBILL,
Buceros rhinoceros, Linn. Syst. Nat. (1766) vol. i. p. 153; Gmel. Syst. Nat. (1788) vol. i. p. 360; Lath. Ind.
Ornith. (1790) vol. i. p. 141 ; Shaw, Gen. Zool. (1811) vol. viii. p. 3, pi. 1 ; Vieill. Nouv. Diet. Hist. Nat.
(1816) vol. iv. p. 598; Dumont, Diet. Sc. Nat. (1817) vol. vi. p. 198; Temm. Planch. Col. (1824) vol. ii. sp. 1 ;
Ersch n. Grub. Ency. (1824) p. 287; Wagl. Syst. Av. (1827) ; Griff. Anim. King. (1829) vol. ii. p. 432; Less.
Trait. Ornith. (1831) p. 255; Begbie, Malay Penins. (1834) p. 512; Mull. & Schleg. Verhand. Natuur.
Geschied. Nederl. Ind. (1839-44) pp. 21, 26; G. E. Gray, Gen. Birds (1849) vol. ii. p. 349. sp. 1; Blyth, Cat.
Birds Mus. Asiat. Soc. (1849) p. 42 ; Bon. Consp. Gen. Av. (1850) p. 89. sp. 3 ; id. Consp. Voluc. Anisod.
(1854) p. 184 ; Horsf. and Moore, Cat. Birds Mus. E.-Ind. Co. (1856) vol. ii. p. 582. no. 867 ; Moore, Proc.
Zool. Soc. (1859) p. 446 ; Cab. & Heine, Mus. Hein. (1860) Th. ii. p. 174 ; Schleg. Mus. Pays-Bas (1862)
p. 3; Blyth, Ibis (1866) p. 352; G. E. Gray, Hand-1. Birds (1870) pt. ii. p. 127. sp. 7866; Sclat. Wolf's Zool,
Sketch. 2nd Ser. pi. xxx.; Giebel, Thes. Ornith. (1872) vol. i. p. 502; Garrod, Proc. Zool. Soc. (1873) p. 464,
(1875) p. 342; Gulliv. Proc. Zool. Soc. (1875) p. 490.
Rhinoceros hornbill, Lath. Gen. Syn. (1781) p. 342. sp. 1, vol. i.
Uoiseau rhinoceros, Buff. Planch. Enlum. (1783) no. 934 (bill).
Buceros africanus, Gmel. Syst. Nat. (1788) vol. i. p. 357. sp. 6; Shaw, Gen. Zool. (1811) vol. viii. p. 6.
Le calao rhinoceros, Le Vaill. Ois. d'Amer. (1801) pis. i., ii. (bill).
Buceros rhinoceros, var. a. sumatranus, Mull. & Schleg. Verb. Geschied. Neder. Ind. (1839-44) p. 22.
Buceros rhinoceros, var. b. bornensis, Miill. & Schleg. Verh. Geschied. Neder. Ind. (1839-44) p. 22.
Buceros rhinoceros, var. c. indica, Miill. & Schleg. Verh. Geschied. Neder. Ind. (1839-44) p. 22.
Buceros rhinoceros, var. d. javanica, Miill. & Schleg. Verh. Geschied. Neder. Ind. (1839-44) p. 22.
Buceros rhino ceroides, Temm. Mus. Lugd. ; Bon. Consp. Gen. Av. (1850) p. 89. sp. 4; id. Consp. Vol. Anisod.
(1854) p. 2 (ex Borneo).
Buceros sublunata, Temm. Mus. Lugd. ; Bon. Consp. Gen. Av. (1850) p. 90. sp. 5 ; id. Consp. Vol. Anisod. (1854)
p. 2 ; G. E. Gray, Hand-1. Birds (1870) pt. ii. p. 127. sp. 7867.
Buceros rhinoceros sumatranus, Schleg. Mus. Pays-B. (1862) p. 4.
Buceros rhinoceros bornensis, Schleg. Mus. Pays-B. (1862) p. 4.
Hab. Malay peninsula (Blyth) ; Sumatra, Borneo (Wallace, Schlegel).
The Rhinoceros HornbiU is pretty generally distributed throughout the Malayan peninsula,
and is also found in Sumatra and Borneo. The upturned casque renders it very conspicuous, and
causes the bird to differ from all the members of the family— so much so that I have retained it,
with its near relative from Java,, as the representatives of Linnseus's genus Buceros, and restricted
that term in this work to this form. Schlegel has separated the birds from Sumatra and Borneo
as races or conspecies of the Malayan species, one of the characters being the width of the black
band on the tail. I find that this band varies very much in different specimens, even from the
■
■ I
same locality, and does not appear to be of any specific importance. Thus, of two fine male
examples in the Leyden Museum from Batang, Sumatra, named by Schlegel B. rhinoceros
sumatranus, one has a quite broad band, the other a comparatively narrow one, while the shape
and size of bills are equal. I have therefore placed Prof. Schlegel' s names as synonyms, as J
do not consider there are more than two species of this form, viz. the present and B. sylvestris
Vieill.
According to Wallace, the exertion this Hornbill is compelled to make when flying is so
great that it is obliged to rest at intervals of about a mile. It feeds on fruits, and requires so
much to appease its appetite that a tree is soon stripped of all that is within reach ; for, on account
of its weight, the bird is only able to take those that are growing close to the larger branches.
It moves along these sideways, by a kind of shuffling hop, and seizes the fruit with the point of its
long bill. When it wishes to swallow any thing it may have obtained, the morsel is jerked
upwards into the air, the head held back, and the bill opened wide ; and the food is thus cast into
the throat. Except in localities where it has not been molested, this species is very shy, and the
appearance of a man, even at a considerable distance, will cause it to take flight at once. The
same fruit-tree is rarely visited more than two or three days consecutively; and in some districts
it is probably a matter of no slight difficulty for this large bird to provide itself with a meal
every day.
The male B. rhinoceros has the bill straw-yellow, a triangular space at the lower base of
maxilla red, and one on the mandible black. A large casque, broad at base, sharp at top, extends
from the centre of the head to about halfway on the culmen, where it turns abruptly upwards, in
old individuals curving slightly backwards at the tip ; this is black posteriorly, and also on the
keel of the curved portion anteriorly. A narrow black line also runs along the side from above
the eye to the upper anterior part of the casque, which, with the exceptions just given, is of a
general red colour, becoming yellowish along the anterior edges. The head, which is slightly
crested, the neck, back, wings, and breast, as far as the thighs, are of a uniform bluish black.
Thighs, lower part of abdomen, crissum, rump, upper and under tail-coverts pure white. Tail
pure white, with a black band crossing all the feathers, distant about one third from the tips.
Iris yellowish white, surrounded by black ; eyelids red. Eeet and tarsi brownish black.
Length of bill 9J inches, casque 6J, height of casque 2J ; total length 39J, wing 18|, tail 17.
The plumage of the female is like that of the male ; but the back part of the casque is reddish
like the sides, and it is also without the narrow black line running from above the eye.
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BUCEROS SYLVESTRIS.
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BUCEROS SILVESTRIS.
JAVAN EHINOCEEOS HOBNBILL.
Le Calao a casque en croissant, Levaill. Ois. d'Amer. (1801) pi. 13.
Buceros semilunaris, Wilkes ? Ency. Lond. (1808) vol. iii. p. 479.
Crescent Hornbill, Shaw, Gen. Zool. (1812) vol. viii. p. 7.
Buceros silvestris, Vieill. Nouv. Diet. Hist. Nat. (1816) vol. iv. p. 592; Less. Trait. Ornith. (1831) p. 256. sp. 14.
Buceros diadematus, Dumont, Diet. Sc. Nat. (1817) vol. vi. p. 203.
Buceros niger, Ersch u. Grub. Ency. (1824) p. 286.
Buceros lunatus, Temm. Plan. Col. (1830) no. 546; Bon. Consp. Gen. Av. (1850) p. 90. sp. 6; id. Consp. Vol.
Anisod. (1854) p. 2; Cab. & Heine, Mus. Hein. (1860) Th. ii. p. 175, no. 480; Gray, Hand-1. B. (1870) pt. ii-
p. 127. sp. 7869.
Buceros rhinoceros, var. djavanica*, Mull. & Schleg. Verb. Gescbied. Neder. Ind. (1839-44) p. 22.
Buceros rhinoceros lunatus, Schleg. Mus. Pays-B. (1862) p. 5.
Hab. Java.
This bird, possessing a very differently shaped casque from that of B. rhinoceros, and being
restricted to one island, where it is the only representative of the genus, may perhaps, with some
propriety, be regarded as a distinct species. It was named as long ago as 1808, in the
' Encyclopaedia Londinensis, 5 from plate 13 of Levaillant's ' Oiseaux Eares de l'Amerique et de
l'lnde,' and called B. semilunaris, but, unfortunately, without any author's name attached ; and
therefore the appellation bestowed by Vieillot (I. c.) in 1816 is the one that has priority over all
others. Temminck, as in many other instances, disregarded the names already given to the
bird, or was ignorant of them, and redescribed it, in the ' Planches Coloriees,' as B. lunatus ;
and many ornithologists have adopted this appellation. It will, however, be obliged to give way
and become a synonym of the one given by Vieillot. We know very little of this bird in its
native haunts. It has at various times been an inmate of different zoological gardens, but is
much more seldom seen, even in collections, than the species from Sumatra and the Malayan
peninsula.
The male has the bill white, with the base of both maxilla and mandible black, edged with
deep red anteriorly. The casque, in the shape of which the main difference between this species
and B. rhinoceros lies, is straight, without any upward turn at the point, rising from the posterior
part of the culmen just above the eyes, and extending nearly two thirds the length of the maxilla:
only.
This synonym was inadvertently published with those of B. rhinoceros. It properly belongs to this species
general colour red, becoming deep yellow towards the point ; posterior terminus black, as is also a
narrow line running along the culmen. The plumage is the same as that of B. rhinoceros, being
bluish black, with white abdomen, thighs, and upper and lower tail-coverts. The tail is also white,
with a broad black band crossing it about two thirds from the base. Iris olive.
Length of bill along gape 8 inches, of casque 5^, height of casque 2. Total length 3 feet,
wing 17J inches, tail 15J, tarsus 2.
The female resembles the male, except that there is no black upon the bill or casque, the
posterior terminus of the latter being red.
My description and figure were taken from specimens in the British-Museum collection.
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DICHOCEROS BICORNIS
THE HOMKAI
Buceros bicornis, Linn. Syst. Nat. (1766) vol. i. p. 153 ; Gmel. Syst. Nat. (1788) vol. i. p. 358 ; Lath. Ind. Ornith.
(1790) vol. i.p. 142; Shaw, Gen. Zool. (1811) vol. viii. p. 16; Vieill. Nouv. Diet. Hist. Nat. (1816) vol. iv.
p. 597; Dumont, Diet. Sc. Nat. (1817) vol. vi. p. 198; Vieill. Ency. Meth. (1823) p. 301; Temm. Plan. Col.
(1824) vol. ii. sp. 4 (text) ; Erschu. Gmb. Ency. (1824) p. 283; Wagl. Syst. Av. (1827) sp. 5 ; Less. Trait. Ornith.
(1831) p. 254. sp. 9; Mull. & Schleg. Verh. Geschied. Nederl. Ind. (1839-44) p. 27. sp. 11 ; G. R. Gray,
Gen. Birds (1849) vol. ii. p. 349; Bon. Consp. Gen. Av. (1850) p. 89. sp. 2; Hartl. Journ. fur Ornith. (1859)
p. 288. sp. 28; Baker, Journ. Asiat. Soc. Beng. (1859) p. 292; Schleg. Mus. Pays-B. (1862) p. 3; Sclat.
Wolfs Zool. Sketch. 2nd Ser. pi. xxix. ; G. R. Gray, Hand-1. B. pt. ii. (1870) p. 127. sp. 7870; Blanf. Ibis
(1870) p. 466. sp. 33; Giebel, Thes. Ornith. (1872) vol. i. p. 496; Garrod, Proc. Zool. Soc. (1873) p. 464.
Le Calao a casque concave, Le Vaill. Ois d'Amer. (1801) pis. 3, 4 (heads), and 5.
Le Calao bicorne, Le Vaill. Ois. d'Amer. pis. 7, 8 (bill), (1801).
Buceros cavatus, Shaw, Gen. Zool. (1811) vol. viii. p. 18 ; Raffles, Trans. Linn. Soc. vol. xiii. (1822) p. 291 ; Ersch
u. Grub. Ency. (1824) p. 285; Vig. Appen. Mem. Raffl. (1830) p. 666; Jerd. Madr. Journ. (1840) p. 37;
Blyth, Journ. Asiat. Soc. Beng. (1842) vol. xii. pt. ii. p. 986; Gould, Cent. Birds, pi.; Blyth, Cat. Birds Mus.
Asiat. Soc. (1849) p. 42; Blanf. Ibis (1870) p. 466. sp. 32.
Buceros cristatus, Vieill. Nouv. Diet. Hist. Nat. (1816) vol. iv. p. 591 ; id. Ency. Meth. (1823) p. 399.
Buceros homrai, Hodg. Journ. Asiat. Soc. Beng. (1832) p. 251 ; id. Asiat. Research. (1833) p. 102 ; J. E. Gray,
Zool. Misc. p. 85; G. R. Gray, Gen. Birds (1849) vol. ii. p. 349. sp. 3; id. Hand-1. Birds (1870) pt. ii. p. 127.
sp. 7871.
Dichoceros cavatus, Glog. Hand u. Hilfs. Naturgesch. (1842) p. 335; Hume, Str. Feath. vol. v. (1875) p. 20; Bour-
dillon, Str. Feath. (1876) p. 384.
Homraius bicornis, Bon. Consp. Vol. Anisod. p. 2, gen. 7. sp. 17 (1854); Horsf. & Moore, Cat. Birds Mus. E.-Ind.
Co. (1856-8) vol. ii. p. 583. no. 868; Moore, Proc. Zool. Soc. (1859) p. 447; Jerd. B. Ind. (1862) vol. i.p. 242;
Blyth, Ibis (1866) p. 349 ; Jerd. Ibis (1872) p. 4.
Dichoceros homrai, Hume, Stray Feath. vol. ii. p. 470 (1874), and vol. iii. (1875) p. 55.
Dichoceros bicornis, Cab. & Hein. Mus. Hein. (1860) Th. ii. p. 173. no. 477 ; Hume, Stray Feath. vol. ii. (1874)
p. 470 ; Blyth, Cat. Mamm. & Birds Burma, Journ. Asiat. Soc. Beng. (1875) p. 68. sp. 68.
Homrai m Nepaul, Ban-rao at Mussoree (Jerdon). Ingghen Papan of the Sumatrans (Raffles). Kugrong
of the Lepchas, Gogrung of the Bhoteeas (Jerdon). Burong Oondan of the Malays (Raffles).
Hab. Indo-Chinese countries, Malayan peninsula and Sumatra (Blyth, Schlegel) .
This Hornbill was described by Linnaeus (I. c), who cited among the first of his synonyms
Willughhy's < Ornithology,' t. 17. fig. 1. This author correctly figures the head and hill of the
present species, with the two sides of the casque turned slightly upwards at their anterior termina-
I
tion. Linnaeus also refers to Brisson's Hydrocorax philippensis, 'Ornith.' vol. iv\ p. 568. Of this bird
Brisson expressly states that he had only seen the head and the bill, which undoubtedly, from his
description, belonged to the bird represented on the opposite plate. Where he got his idea of the
plumage of the body is not stated ; but the head was in the cabinet of M. de Reaumur. Linnaeus,
in his description of the plumage, followed Brisson in a great measure, and evidently confused two
species together; for the tail of his bird belongs either to the A. coronatus or A. convexiis ; it is
impossible to say which. As, however, both Willughby and Brisson, whom Linnasus quotes, ac-
curately describe the head of the present species, the only portion they were acquainted with, and
the first-named also figures it, there can be no doubt as to which bird Linnaeus applied the term
blcornis ; and his diagnosis, " JB. fronte ossea plana antrorsum bicorni," can only be intended for the
species now under consideration, as there is no other Horn bill known for which this description
would answer. There is a great difference observable in the form of the casques of individuals, the
anterior margin in some assuming the shape of a semicircle, while in others it is almost flat.
These peculiarities are found to exist among specimens from all localities, and do not indicate sepa-
rate species. The Sikhim birds, as stated by Mr. Hume, are apparently somewhat larger than
those from Northern Tenasserim; but some from South Tenasserim equal in size the Sikhim ones,
and there is nothing to indicate two species.
I have been unable to distinguish any differences between the Indian and Malayan forms of
this bird, sufficient to constitute them distinct, and have therefore placed Mr. Hodgson's B.
homrai among the synonyms of D. blcornis.
This fine species, with one exception the largest of the family, has quite a wide range. In-
deed, how extensive this is we do not exactly know, for it may be an inmate of the great forests
that stretch away into China. Being met with generally throughout India, its habits have been ob-
served by many of the excellent naturalists of that country, and consequently we are pretty
familiar with its mode of life.
It is a forest-loving bird, and is usually found on the mountain-ranges at a height of from
3000 to 5000 feet. According to Hodgson, it is also met with upon the lower ranges of hills near
the plains, preferring the open and cultivated spots in the wilds it inhabits, which places are
usually restricted to the banks of the rivers. It is gregarious, twenty or thirty individuals, as
stated by Hodgson, being commonly found in the same vicinity, six or seven on one tree, although
Jerdon says he never saw more than ^.yg or six together, either in Southern India or the Sikhim
Himalayas, and there only rarely; while Mr. Bourdillon states that three are the greatest number
he has seen at one time in the Travancore hills ; and Mr. Oates gives five or six as the number in
a flock in the Evergreen Forests in Upper Pegu, where it is a common bird, but extremely wary and
difficult to approach, keeping in the highest branches. They will remain perched for hours, almost
motionless, uttering at intervals a low croak as though conversing with each other.
Usually it is rather a silent bird, but when wounded or taken captive, it utters the most ex-
traordinary sounds imaginable. The voice is very harsh and grating, and the noise it makes is
compared by Wallace to something between the bray of a jackass and the shriek of a locomotive,
and is not to be surpassed probably, in power, by any sound that an animal is capable of making,
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Tickell says that its roar reechoes through the hills to such a degree that it is difficult to assign
the noise to a bird, and Wallace states that this is kept up so continuously as to be absolutely un-
bearable. He heard it plainly a mile away. The flight of this species is heavy, and performed by
repeated flappings of its huge wings. It usually proceeds in a straight line, and' sails only when
about to alight upon some tree. The strokes are made with great force, and the noise of its wings
can be heard for more than a mile. As a rule the food of this Hornbill is strictly fruits — certainly
so, says Hodgson, at certain seasons, as in the months of January and February, when he found
the stomachs contained nothing but the fruit of the Pipal tree. Tickell states that it eats lizards
readily, not only from the hand, but will search for them and seize them. With this exception,
authors generally agree in regarding fruit as the sole food of this bird.
It breeds in the holes of large trees, and, like the other members of this Family, the male
plasters the female in, and never allows her to leave the nest until incubation is accomplished,
keeping her well supplied with food in the meanwhile. The egg, as described by Tickell, is a dirty
yellowish brownish white, spindle-shaped or pointed at both ends, and of a coarse surface, indented
with numerous pores. Longitudinal and transverse axis 2y|" and 1-J" respectively.
" The newly hatched young," says Wallace, " is as large as a pigeon, destitute of plumage, ex-
ceedingly plump and soft, with a semitransparent skin, so that it looks more like a bag of jelly
with head and feet stuck on than a real bird. Frequently the wing-spots, rump, nuchal crest, and
parts of the bill are stained yellow. This colour comes from a bundle of stiff feathers protruding
from the sac at the root of the tail, which exudes an oily secretion, with which the bird dresses
its plumage." "When first shot," says Blyth, "this colour comes off the bill in considerable
quantities, and the yellow substance continues to exude from the brush long after the specimen is
prepared and dry." Mr. Oates states, in ' Stray Feathers ' (1875) p. 55, in reference to this
colouring-matter on the plumage, that he does not think the "yellow on the head and neck is en-
tirely due to the secretion of the uropygial gland. It does not come off in any quantity when the
bird is killed." Mr. Inglis, who met with this species in Oachar, states that in the dry weather
they are continually migrating to the south, and, during the rains, to the north. They go mostly
in flocks of five and seven, but sometimes thirty are seen together. A windy day is the best for
shooting them, and they afford " splendid eating, far superior to any fowl or pheasant." Among
the inhabitants of the forest, this bird is stated to be sacred to Vishnu, and the Nepaulese name
for this species, "Homrai," is derived from the notes it is accustomed to utter.
Male. — Bill much curved. Maxilla yellow, reddish towards the tip ; mandible ivory-white in
adults, the base of both black. Casque very broad, flat, extending backwards over the head for
about half the length of the bill, and descending to the maxilla at a right angle. Posterior termi-
nation black, its upper edge reddish ; anterior edge black, this colour reaching to the bill and con-
tinuing along the culmen to the point. B-est of casque waxen-yellow. Cutting-edges of bill also
black. Head and base of bill black, as are also the back, breast, and abdomen. Occiput, neck,
thighs and tips of upper tail-coverts, crissum, and under tail-coverts white. Wings black, with
the ends of the greater coverts, secondaries, primaries, and a spot on these last, about halfway
4
towards the shoulders, white. Tail pure white, with a broad black band about two thirds from
the base. Sometimes the neck and the white on the wing are yellowish, caused by the secretion
from the uropygial gland. Iris crimson ; bare skin around eyes black.
Length of bill 10 inches, from point to end of casque 13, of casque 7J, breadth 3, height of
bill and casque at base 4. Total length of bird 4 feet, wing 20 inches, tail 17, tarsus 2J.
The female resembles the male, except that there is no black on the casque, and its posterior
end is red. Bare skin round the eyes red.
The specimens here described and figured were living in the Regent's-Park Gardens, London.
s
^
I
.
y,v< -v.
HYDROCORAX PLANICORNIS
FLAT-CASQUE HOBNBILL
Buceros hydrocorax, Linn. Syst. Nat. (1766) vol. i. p. 153; Grmel. Syst. Nat. (1788) vol. i. p. 359 ; Lath. Ind.
Ornith. (1790) vol. i. p. 144; id. Gen. Syn. (1790) vol. i. p. 351. sp. 7, 2nd Suppl. (1801) p. 100; Shaw,
Gen. Zool. (1811) vol. viii. p. 31 ; Vieill. Nouv. Diet. Hist. Nat. (1816) vol. iv. p. 597; id. Ency. Meth.
(1823) p. 304; Temm. Planch. Col. (1824) vol. ii. sp. 6 (text) ; Wagl. Syst. Av. (1827) sp. 7; Less. Trait.
Ornith. (1831) p. 254. sp. 10 ; G. B. Gray, Gen. Birds (1849) vol. ii. p. 399. sp. 15 ; Blyth, Cat. Birds Mus.
Asiat. Soc. (1849) p. 43. sp. 176; Bon. Consp. Gen. Av. (1850) p. 89. sp. 1; Schleg. Mus. Pays-B. (1862)
p. 2 ; Von Mart. Journ. fur Ornith. (1866) p. 18; Giebel, Thesaur. Ornith. (1872) p. 499; Wald. Trans. Zool.
Soc. (1873) vol. ix. p. 164.
Calao des Moluques, Buff. Plan. Enlum. (1783) no. 283.
Buceros planicornis, Merrern, Ersch u. Grub. Ency. (1824) p. 287; Bon. Consp. Vol. Anisod. (1854) p. 184.
Buceros platyrhynchus, Pears. Jour. Asiat. Soc. Beng. (1841) p. 652.
Hydrocorax planicornis, Bonap. Consp. Vol. Anisod. (1854) p. 2. gen. 8. sp. 18.
Platyceros hydrocorax, Cab. & Heine, Mus. Hein. (1860) Th. ii. p. 174. no. 478.
Buceros {Hydrocorax) hydrocorax, G. B,. Gray, Hand-1. Birds (1870) pt. ii. p. 128. sp. 7884.
Hab. Moluccas (Blyth) ; Philippines (Schlegel).
This remarkable species was one of the few described by Linnaeus in bis ' Systema Natura?,'
and is a native of the Moluccas and also the Philippine Islands. In the shape of its casque it is
nearest allied to D. bicornis, but differs so materially both from that species and all others of
the family, that it does not seem inappropriate to retain it in a separate genus by itself. Brisson,
in his ' Ornithologie ' (1760) vol. iv. p. 565, instituted his genus Hydrocorax for this species ;
Cabanis and Heine, in 1860, also proposed the generic term 'Platyceros. Although Brisson is not
deemed an authority for species, his genera have usually been employed in ornithology, and I
have therefore retained his term to the exclusion of the later one by Cabanis. But little is known
of the habits and economy of this bird, its habitat being one not often penetrated by Europeans,
even Mr. Wallace, the most eminent of the naturalists who have visited portions of the country
in which it is found, having had but little to relate concerning it. This is perhaps more to be
wondered at as it must be a very conspicuous object in its native woods, and it could not move
from one tree to another without betraying itself by the noise of its wings, which has been com-
pared to the puffing of a locomotive just starting with a train.
Bill brick-red ; a broad flat casque extends from about one third the length of the maxilla
from its point, along the culmen, increasing in width on its upper surface, and projects over the
head to behind the eyes ; this, like the bill, is brick-red, darkest on its sides. Front, cheeks, and
chin black. Head, neck, and upper part of breast chestnut-red. Lower part of the throat white.
'
V
Back and wings dark brown, edges of secondaries buff, primaries black. Planks and abdomen
black. Thighs and under tail-coverts rnfous. Tail white. No difference between the sexes.
Length of bill of male 6£ inches, of casque 6J, height of casque 3f Total length of bird 29f
inches ; wing 17 ; tail 14J ; tarsus 2J.
Young have the casque and bill black. Head, neck, and underparts dirty white. Back and
wings dark brown, scapulars tipped with white, also secondaries edged with buff. Tail white, the
outer rectrices with a narrow bar of black on their terminal third.
The figures in the Plate represent the adult and young.
.'
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HYD RO C OEAX MINEANE N S I S
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HYDftOCORAX MINDANENSIS
MINDANAO FLAT-CASQUE HOENBILI,
Buceros mindanensis, Lord Tweeddale, Proc. Zool. Soc. (1877) pp. 543, 823, (1878) pp. 278, 946.
Hab. Island of Mindanao, Valley of Pasananca, Zamboanga (Everett) .
I
This apparently distinct species was procured by the officers of the ' Challenger ' in the valley
of Pasananca, island of Mindanao, about seven miles from Zamboanga, and described by the late
Marquis of Tweeddale {I. c). Three examples were obtained — a male, a female, and a young
female. Mr. Murray, the naturalist of the expedition, furnished the following notes regarding
them: — "The stomachs of all contained seeds and fruits, and grubs, centipedes, grasshoppers, &c.
These birds make a loud sound, like a crow somewhat, and frequent the highest trees. Several
times in the early morning we came upon them on the ground under the trees ; and I rather
think they scrape at the roots of trees for food."
Though closely allied to the H. planicomis, the present species is distinguished by having a
corrugated plate on the sides of the mandible at its base, by the casque being narrower, by the
half of the maxilla and three fourths of the mandible anteriorly being white, and by the rufous
of the plumage being darker. The sexes do not differ in the colour of their plumage.
Adult. — Casque, basal half of maxilla, and crura of mandible deep red. The corrugated
plates on mandible are a darker red ; rest of bill pale yellowish white. A black band surrounds
the eye, extends down the face, and covers the chin. Upper part of throat tawny. Breast black.
Rest of plumage of head and body, except tail-coverts, deep rufous. Interscapulars and wing-
coverts brown. Upper tail-coverts ferruginous ; under coverts rust-colour. Primaries black ;
secondaries margined on the outer web with ferruginous. Beatrices buff. The colour of the iris
seems to vary from bright yellow to a pale green in examples from different parts of the island.
Orbital skin blackish, with a yellow streak under the eye. Bare skin of throat yellow. Peet and
tarsi coral-red.
Wing 15 J inches; tail 14; bill along gape 6*62; length of casque 6, breadth 2; tarsus 3;
middle toe T60.
Immature Bird. — Has the casque not so fully developed anteriorly, and not overhanging the
true culmen. This latter is grey-brown, and the top of the casque red, as is also the base of
mandible. The grooved lateral plates have not appeared ; but there are indications of grooves
on the mandible at base. Peet and tarsi red. Bill blackish, tinged with red. Irides blue.
Length, wing 14 J inches, tail 13 J, bill along gape 5*62, casque 4 J, breadth of same 1-|,
tarsus 3, middle toe If.
Female has the iris white, feet light coral-red.
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HYDRO CORAX SEMI GALE AT US
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HYDROCORAX SEMIGALEATUS
SEMI-HELMETED HOENBILL,
Buceros semigaleatus, Tweeddale, Proc. Zool. Soc. (1878) p. 279.
Hab. Ampavo, island of Leyte, and Panaon, Philippines (Everett).
This local form of H. planicornis was described by the late Marquis of Tweeddale (I. c.) from
specimens procured by Mr. Everett at Ampavo, in the extreme south of the island of Leyte, and
on Panaon, both belonging to the Philippine archipelago. In the colouring of the bill and
plumage this bird presents no difference from H. mindanensis ; and its claim for specific
distinction rests solely on the shape of the casque. This, instead of being flat upon its superior
plane and terminating in a compressed and elevated anterior margin at a right angle to the
culmen, like those of H. planicornis and JET. mindanensis, has this portion arched, and the
crown of this arch upon its anterior half forming an acute ridge, while the casque itself falls
away anteriorly, and is lost in the culmen. In the two species mentioned above, the contour of
the plane of the casque is oval, with the posterior end rounded, and the anterior pointed. In
this bird the posterior end is rounded, and the sides are parallel for two thirds the length of the
casque, where they form corners, and then recede rapidly to the culmen. Nothing was recorded
regarding the economy or habits of this peculiar form, though several specimens were procured,
representing the adult and immature birds. The plumage of the old individuals was the same
as that of H. mindanensis, with which this form is most closely allied. The iris appears to vary
in colour, that of a male from Leyte being light yellow, while one from Panaon was pale blue.
Orbital skin almost black; gular skin indian-yellow ; feet coral-red, nails dark brown-grey. At
the base of the mandibles of adult examples there are slightly corrugated plates.
Male. — Length of wing 15'80 inches, tail 15, tarsus 2'20, bill at gape 5*85 ; length of casque
4*90, breadth 2, sides 3*35.
Female. — Length of wing 14*30 inches, tail 14*50, tarsus 2*20, bill at gape 5*30; length of
casque 4*75, breadth 1*65, sides 3*30.
The young in first plumage have the head, neck, breast, abdomen, thighs, and vent greyish
fulvous-white, the feathers being ferruginous at their insertions, and grey at their tips. Upper
tail-coverts also same colour, with brown bases. Back and wings brown ; quills dark brown
with greyish fulvous edgings. Median pair of rectrices pale brown for two thirds their length,
with the apical third creamy white; remaining rectrices pale rusty-brown. Bill black, with
the tip yellow. Iris dark brown ; orbital skin greenish yellow ; gular skin yellow ; legs and feet
dark orange.
The figures in the Plate are taken from the type specimens in Captain Bamsay's possession,
to whom I am indebted for the opportunity of introducing them into this work.
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RHINOPLAX VIGIL
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RHINOPLAX VIGIL
HELMETED HOENBILL
!
Buceros vigil, J. B. Forster, Zoolog. Indica (1781) p. 40.
Helmeted Hornbill, Lath. Gen. Syn. (1781) p. 343. sp. 2.
Buceros scutatus, Bodd. Tab. PI. Enlum. d'Aubent. (1783) sp. 933, p. 55 • G. R. Gray, Gen. Birds (1846) vol. ii.
p. 399. sp. 17; Giebel, Thesanr. Ornith. (1872) p. 503.
Calao a casque rond, Buff. PL Enlum. (1783) no. 933 (head).
Buceros galeatus, Gmel. ed. Linn. Syst. Nat. (1788) vol. i. p. 360; Lath. Ind. Ornith. (1790) vol. i. p. 142; Shaw,
Gen. Zool. (1811) vol. viii. p. 24; Vieill. Nouv. Diet. Hist. Nat. (1816) vol. iv. p. 593; Dumont,. Diet. Se.
Nat. (1817) p. 204; Vieill. Enc. Meth. (1823) p. 301; Temm. PI. Col. (1824) vol. ii. sp. 7 (text) ; Ersch u.
Gruber, Enc. (1824) p. 284; Wagl. Syst. Av. (1827) sp. 4; Less. Trait. Ornith. (1831) p. 256. sp. 18;
Begbie, Malay Penin. (1834) p. 513; Blyth, Cat. B. Mus. Asiat. Soc. (1849) p. 45. sp. 192; Schleg. Mus.
Pays-Bas (1862) p. 1. sp. 1.
Rhinoplax scutatus, Glog. Hand- und Hilfsb. (1842) p. 335 ; Horsf. & Moore, Cat. B. Mus. E.-Ind. Co. (1856-8^
vol. ii. p. 581. no. 866; Moore, Proc. Zool. Soc. (1859) p. 446.
Buceroturus galeatus, Bon. Consp. Gen. Av. (1850) p. 89. sp. 1 ; id. Consp. Vol. Anisod. (1854) p. 2.
Buceros {Rhinoplax) scutatus, G. R. Gray, Hand-1. Birds (1870) part ii, p. 130. sp. 7908.
Hab. Malayan peninsula and archipelago (Blyth) ; Borneo, Sumatra (Schlegel).
Forster, in his ' Zoologia Indica ' (1781), gave the name of vigil to this bird, founded upon
the bill figured in Edwards's ( Birds/ plate 281c, and thus antedated Boddaert by two years.
This extraordinary bird is remarkable even among the unusual forms met with amid the
members of the Bucerotidae. Not only does it possess a large bill and casque, but, unlike all the
other species, this latter structure, instead of being hollow, is perfectly solid. This fact causes it
to be quite heavy ; and a blow from the bill of a full-grown male upon a man's head might easily
produce very serious, if not fatal, results. For what especial reason this bird is endowed with the
solid casque has not yet been ascertained : but it is probably for detaching bark or fruit from the
trees ; for it would have nearly as great an effect when struck against any object as a blow from a
hammer in the hands of a man. Another peculiar character possessed alone by this species
among the Hornbills is the great length of the two median rectrices, which extend for a
considerable distance beyond the rest of the feathers of the tail. With its bony casque, bare neck,
and lengthened tail it seems fairly to be entitled to a distinct generic rank ; and I have therefore
retained for it the term Rhinojplax;, first proposed by Gloger in 1842. Nothing is known of its
economy or habits.
Male. — Bill straight, pointed, yellow, brick-red at base. About midway on the culmen rises
a solid bony casque, orange-red on its anterior half, brick-red for the remainder, wide on its
anterior face, curved on top, to which it narrows from the sides, but is nowhere compressed,
f
i
extends over the head to the eyes, and returns to the base of the bill by a moderate curve. Top
of head and occiput black, a patch of feathers on the sides edged with rufous. Neck and spot
on back bare, brick-red. Back, breast, and wings brownish black ; primaries and one or two of
the secondaries tipped with white ; the median tail-feathers are double the length of the rest, and
like them, are white, with a black bar near the tip. Iris indian-red. Legs and feet dark red.
Length of bill 5i| inches, casque 3| ; height of bill and casque at base 4&\. Total length of bird
3 feet, to end of median tail-feathers 3 feet 6 inches; wing 19 inches ; tail 15|; tarsus 2-J.
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ANTHRACOCEROS CORONATUS.
CROWNED HOENBILL.
Calao de la cote Malabar, Sonn. Voy. aux Indes (1782) p. 215, pi. 121.
Calao des Philippines, Buff. Plan. Enlum. (1783) no. 873.
Buceros coronatus, Bodd. Tab. Plan. Enlum. D'Auben. (1783) p. 53 ; G. B. Gray, Gen. Birds (1849) vol. ii. p. 399;
Hartl. Jonrn. fur Ornith. (1859) p. 289. sp. 29; Schleg.Mus. Pays-B. (1862) p. 6; Blyth, Ibis (1866) p. 352;
Nitz. Pteryl. Bay Soc. (1867) p. 102; Giebel, Thes. Ornith. (1872) p. 497; Garrod, Proc. Zool. Soc. (1872)
p. 464; Sclat. Bev. List Vert. Anim. (1872) p. 171. sp. 274.
Buceros pica, Scop. Faun, et Flor. Insub. (1786) p. 87. sp. 32; G. B. Gray, Gen. Birds (1849) vol. ii. p. 399;
Blyth, Cat. Birds Mus. Asiat. Soc. (1849) p. 43. sp. 177; Tickell, Ibis (1864) p. 179; Eyton, Osteol. Av. p. 62
(1867).
Buceros malabaricus, var. fi&y, Lath. Ind. Orn. (1790) vol. i. p. 144. sp. 6 ; Dumont, Diet. Sc. Nat. (1817) p. 205.
Buceros dschindschicus , Lath. & Davies, Faunula Indica (1795) p. 6. no. 10.
Le Calao unicorne, Le Vaill. Ois. d'Amer. (1801) pis. 9, 10 (bill), & 11.
Le Calao violet, Le Vaill. Ois. d'Amer. (1801) pi. 19.
Buceros violaceus, Wilkes? Ency. Lond. (1808) vol. iii. p. 479; Shaw, Gen. Zool. (1811) vol. viii. p. 19; Vieill.
Nouv. Diet. Hist. Nat. (1816) vol. iv. p. 599; Dumont, Diet. Sc. Nat. (1817) vol. vi. p. 211; Wagl. Syst. Av.
(1827) sp. 9; Temm. Plan. Col. vol. ii. sp. 9 (text) ; G. B. Gray, Gen. Birds (1849) p. 399; Blyth, Journ.
Asiat. Soc. Beng. (1849) p. 803 ; G. B. Gray, Hand-1. Birds (1870) pt. ii. p. 128. sp. 7878.
Buceros monoceros, Shaw, Gen. Zool. (1811) vol. viii. p. 8; Ersch u. Grub. Ency. (1824) p. 285; Wagl. Syst. Av.
(1827) sp. 2; Begbie, Malay Penin. (1834) p. 513; Temm. Plan. Col. (1838) vol. ii. sp. 11 (text) ; Mull. &
Schleg. Verh. Gesch. Ned. Ind. (1839-44) p. 22. sp. 111.
Buceros malabaricus, Tickell, Journ. Asiat. Soc. Beng. (1833) vol. ii. p. 579 ; Jerd. Madr. Journ. (1840) p. 38 ;
Blyth, Journ. Asiat. Soc. Beng. (1843) p. 993 ; Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. vol. xiii. 2nd ser. p. 260.
Anthracoceros coronatus, Beich. Syst. A v. pi. 49 (1849).
Hydrocissa monoceros, Bon. Consp. Gen. Av. (1850) p. 90. sp. 1 ; id. Consp. Vol. Anisod. (1854) p. 2.
Hydrocissa pica, Bon. Consp. Gen. Av. (1850) p. 90. sp. 2; id. Consp. Vol. Anisod. (1854) p. 2.
Hydrocissa violaceus, Bon. Consp. Gen. Av. (1850) p. 90. sp. 4.
Annorrhinus violaceus, Bon. Consp. Vol. Anisod. (1854) p. 2. sp. 23.
Hydrocissa coronata, Horsf . & Moore, Cat. Birds Mus. E.-Ind. Co. (1856-58) vol. ii. p. 588. no. 869 ; Cab. &
Heine, Mus. Hein. (1860) Th. ii. p. 170. no. 470; Jerd. B. Ind. (1862) vol. i. p. 245. sp. 141; Blyth, Ibis
(1866) p. 349; Holdsw. Proc. Zool. Soc. (1872) p. 425; Ball, Stray Feath. (1874) p. 387, & (1875) p. 290.
Buceros {Hydrocissa) coronatus, G. B. Gray, Hand-1. Birds (1870) pt. ii. p. 127. sp. 7872.
Bagnea-dunes in Bengal. Wayera, Mahratta. Kamari, Coucan, Peshta-ganda of the Gonds. Kuchla-Kha,
Goomsoor.
Hab. Indian peninsula, Ceylon (Blyth) ; Chota Nagpur (Ball).
The present species, the A. malabaricus, and the A. convexus have been confused one with
another by different writers to an extraordinary degree. The A. convexus and the A. coronatus
are, indeed, closely allied; but there is a considerable difierence in their size, as well as in the
marking and shape of their casques, while their geograpical distribution is not at all the same.
The bird now under consideration was first described by Boddaert (I. c.) in 1783, from Buffon's
plate in the c Planches Enluminees ' of the Calao des 'Philippines. Scopoli followed shortly after-
wards (1786) with his Buceros pica, founded upon Sonnerat's plate of the Calao de la cote Malabar.
This figure, having the lateral rectrices entirely pure white, is evidently the same as Boddaert's
B. coronatus. Latham noticed that this was a different species from the B. malabaricus of Grmelin,
but contented himself by merely marking it var. /3 and y. Shaw (1811) conferred two more names
upon the luckless bird, viz. B. monoceros and B. violaceus, both of which have been about equally
followed by succeeding writers. Many authors have also employed Gmelin's term of malabaricus,
given to a very different, although allied species, one that never has the lateral rectrices entirely
white.
The range of this species is confined to the peninsula of India and Ceylon. In the latter
country, Layard observed it at Tangalla, and near St. Pedro, generally in large flocks ; and Mr.
Holdsworth also met with it a few miles from Aripo ; and in the forest on the road between
Kandy and Trincomalie, he frequently saw small parties of this Hornbill. Jerdon says that five
or six usually compose the flocks seen in the Indian peninsula, and they generally keep in the
thick forest, and near water.
The food of these birds is fruit — especially that of the Kuchla (Strychnos nux vomica), and
berries, which they swallow whole. They are also fond of the fruit of the banian and other figs.
In the jungles of Borabhum, Tickell says, they were very common, frequenting the Pipul trees, the
fruit of which formed their principal food. The allied species, A. malabaricus, is stated by Mr.
Inglis (' Stray Feathers,' vol v. p. 20) to be very fond of live fish, which it catches in shallow
pools. The way he discovered this predilection for an abnormal diet was as follows. He pos-
sessed a tame Otter and three tame Hornbills. At feeding-time the Otter was placed in a tub con-
taining live fish ; and these, when closely pressed, would jump out to escape from their pursuer, and
were immediately swallowed by the Hornbills. Mr. Inglis has also found bones of fish in the
stomachs of those birds which he had shot ; and the Nagas affirm that, when these Hornbills are
intent on fishing, they can be approached sufficiently close to be killed with a stick. I have not
seen it anywhere recorded that the present species is a fish-eater ; but it is not unlikely that it
would accept this kind of food as readily as the A. malabaricus. The eggs are deposited in holes of
trees, the female being, as usual, fastened in by her mate. The young keep with their parents
many months after leaving the nest. The voice of this species is loud and harsh ; and it is a very
noisy bird, at the same time shy and wary. According to Tickell, it is never met with in high
rocky lands, nor in barren tracks of saul-jungle, but abounds in the rich meadows composing the
valley of the Soubourika. Occasionally, says Jerdon, in forest country, they come out in open
spaces in the jungle to large fruit-bearing trees ; and Layard states they appear to be much on the
ground seeking food. The casque on the bill is not developed until after the first year.
'"
— —
In Cliota Nagpur tliis species, according to Mr. Ball, affects certain localities, where it may
generally be fonnd in flocks of from six to ten individnals. He shot it in Manbhum, Singhbhum,
and Sirguja, and also in the jnngle on the road from the Ranchi plateau to Purula. He also shot
at Lobloi, near Lanigarh, in the south of the Division, a specimen of the allied species, A. mala-
baricus, which formed one of a small party in a grove of mango trees ; and in the same country he
met with the present species, the limits of the two evidently overlapping. He states that the iris
is orange-maroon, while Jerdon says it is crimson in the adult, brown in the young bird.
Some authors have used for this bird and its allies the generic term Hydrocissa, proposed
by Bonaparte in his ' Conspectus Avium' for various species not nearly related beyond the fact
that they belong to the same Eamily, among which the present one is included. I have not
adopted this term, for the following reasons. Reichenbach proposed, in 1849 (of which date I
believe there is no doubt), in his ' Syst. Nat. Av.,' the terms Anthracoceros (citing alone the B.
malabaricus, Gmel., as its type) and Anorrhinus (with the B. galeritus, Temm., as its type), and
gave drawings of those characters in each considered by him generic. Although the portion
of Bonaparte's ' Conspectus Avium ' containing the Hornbills is dated 1849, I am unable to ascer-
tain whether it appeared in that year separately, or with the rest of the first volume, which has its
preface dated April 1850. In any event, on the score of priority, Bonaparte has no advantage over
Reichenbach. The genus Hydrocissa, Bon., of which no definition whatever is given, is made to
include such species as coronatus, Bodd. (called monoceros, Shaw), galeritus, Temm., malayanus,
Raffl., and exarhatus, Temm. The other two, called pica, Scopoli, and violaceus, Shaw, are syno-
nyms of coronatus, Bodd. The Anthracoceros, Reich., with coronatus as its type, would naturally
include also the B. malayanus, Raffl. ; and the B. galeritus, Temm., is appropriated by Anorrhinus,
Reich. There is thus left of Bonaparte's species only the B. exarhatus, Temm., to represent his
genus Hydrocissa.
Male. — Bill curved, yellowish- white, base black, extending forward on the mandible. A large
laterally compressed casque rises from base of maxilla, extends backwards over the head, and then
curves forward for two thirds the length of maxilla, and returns by an acute angle to the culmen.
A large patch of black covers the anterior three fourths of the casque, but never reaches the maxilla.
In some specimens this patch is only a broad irregular black band. The posterior terminus is also
black. Head covered by a loose, rather long crest, and, together with the neck, breast, and wings,
black. Underparts and tips of primaries and secondaries white. Tail pure white, with the ex-
ception of the central pair, which are black. Naked skin on throat pale flesh-colour ; iris crimson,
brown in the young ; feet dark grey.
Total length 3 feet, wing 13 inches, tail 14, bill along gape 7, casque 6, height of bill and
casque 4.
Female same as male, but smaller. No black on posterior terminus of casque.
Specimens described and figured are in my own collection, and in the Paris Museum. The
individual represented with the very large and black casque may be regarded as perhaps rather
exceptional, as the majority of specimens have casques more like the others figured in the plate.
This black-casque example is in the Paris Museum.
I
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ANTHRACOCERUS CONVEXUS
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ANTHRACOCEROS CONVEXUS,
TEMMINCK'S PIED HOENBILL
Buceros albirostris, Horsf. (nee Shaw), Trans. Linn. Soc. vol. xiii. p. 175.
Buceros malabaricus, Raffles (nee Gmel.), Trans. Linn. Soc. vol. xiii. p. 291.
Buceros convexus, Temm. Plan. Col. (1830) vol. ii. pi. 530; Gray, Gen. Birds (1849) vol.ii. p. 399; Motley & Dillw.
Nat. Hist. Labuan (1855) p. 53; Schleg. Mns. Pays-B. (1862) p. 7 ; Gray, Hand-1. B. pt. ii. (1870) p. 127.
sp. 7873; Sclat. Rev. List Vert. Anim. (1872) p. 172. sp. 276.
Buceros violaceus, Lord A. Hay (nee Shaw), Madr. Jonrn. (1844) vol. xiii. p. 148.
Buceros intermedius, Blyth, Journ. Asiat. Soc. Beng. vol. xvi. p. 994, and vol. xviii. p. 803 ; id. Cat. B. Mus. Asiat.
Soc. (1849) p. 43. sp. 180; Wail. Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 2nd ser. vol. xv. (1855) p. 98.
Hydrocissa convexa, Horsf. & Moore, Cat. Birds Mus. E.I. Co. (1856-8) vol. ii. p. 591. sp. 871 ; Moore, Proc. Zool.
Soc. (1859) p. 448; Cab. & Heine, Mus. Hein. (1860) Th. ii. p. 170. no. 469; Salvad. Ucc. di Borneo (1874)
p. 80; Sharpe, Ibis (1879) p. 246.
Angka-Angha of the Sumatrans (Raffles) .
Hab. Malacca, Java, Sumatra and Borneo (Schlegel) ; Labuan (Motley and Dillwyn) ; Lawas river, Borneo
(Ussher, Treacher).
The A. convexus was first separated from its relatives and described as distinct by Temminck
(I. c). It bears a very close resemblance in the colour of its plumage to the A. coronatus. In
fact, in this respect the two birds are precisely alike ; but there are differences, in the size and in
the shape and markings of the casque of this species, which, together with its habitat, seem to
point it out as distinct. It is a much smaller bird ; the casque is swollen and not nearly so much
compressed on the sides as that of A. coronatus; and the black mark on the casque reaches the
maxilla, which is never the case in its ally. It has received two or three names besides those
hestowedby Temminck; and some writers have called it by both Gmelin and Shaw's names,
confounding it with the A. malabaricus. It has a fair distribution, being found throughout the
Malayan peninsula, in Sumatra, and also at Labuan, where it was procured by Messrs. Motley and
Dillwyn— who state that it is not uncommon, but shy and wild, going usually in pairs and keeping
in the deep and tall jungle. Their food is almost entirely fruits, although in captivity they will
eat any thing, but were especially fond of plantain. According to the Malays, they frequent the
beach in search of small fish. Mr. Motley's captive birds were fed on boiled rice made into balls ;
but on one occasion they swallowed some ducklings that incautiously came within reach of their
bills. The voice is a harsh and discordant croak, and is stated to sound something between the
the bray of an ass and the croak of a landrail ! Besides Labuan, this species has also been procured
ft.f?"
I
on the Lawas River, whence specimens were sent to London by both Governor Ussher and Mr.
Treacher, the acting Governor of Labuan.
Male.— Bill and casque yellowish white, excepting the base of the bill and patches on the
anterior portion and posterior terminus of the casque, which are black. Casque about as high as
the bill, narrow for its whole length, and terminating abruptly anteriorly at about two thirds the
length of the bill. The black on the anterior end of the casque extends onto the maxilla. TJnder-
parts, about three inches of the tips of the primaries and secondaries, together with the whole of
the lateral tail-feathers, pure white. Rest of plumage black with a purplish gloss. Space around
the eyes white, tinged with blue at the margins. Iris red-brown. Feet lead-colour.
Total length 29 inches, wing 11 J, tail 12^, tarsus 1 \ ; length of bill h\ inches, length of casque
5, height of casque \\.
There is no difference in the plumage of the sexes ; but the posterior end of the casque of the
female is yellowish.
Specimens described and figured are in my own collection.
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ANTHRACOCEROS MAL ABARI C U S
ANTHRACOCEROS MALABARICUS
PIED HOKNBILL.
Pied Hornbill, Lath. Gen. Syn. (1781) vol. i. p. 349. sp. 6, pi. xi.
Buceros malabaricus, Gmel. Syst. Nat. (1788) vol. i. p. 359. sp. 7; Lath. Ind. Orn. (1790), vol. i. p. 143. sp. 6;
M'Clell. Proc. Zool. Soc. (1839) p. 164; Temm. Plan. Col. (1824) vol. ii. sp. 11 (text) ; Vieill. Nouv. Diet!
Hist. Nat. vol. iv. (1816) p. 595; Less. Trait. Ornith. (1831) p. 254. sp. 8; Ersch u. Grub. Ency. (1831) p.
285 ; Mull. & Schleg. Verh. Geschied. Neder. Ind. iv. (1839-44) pp. 22, 28.
Buceros albicornis, Wilkes ? Ency. Lond. vol. iii. (1808) p. 479.
Buceros albirostris, Shaw, Gen. Zool. vol. viii. (1811) p. 13 : Vieill. Nouv. Diet. Hist. Nat. vol. iv. (1816) p. 590;
Wagl. Syst. Av. (1827) sp. 11 ; Blyth, Cat. B. Mus. Asiat. Soc. Beng. (1849) pp. 43 & 803. sp. 179; Tickel{
Ibis (1864) p. 179; Blyth, Ibis (1864) p. 412; id. Journ. Asiat. Soc. Beng. (1843) vol. xii. pt. ii. p. 995;
Gray, Hand-1. B. pt. ii. (1870) p. 128. sp. 7874.
Buceros leucogaster, Blyth, Journ. Asiat. Soc. Beng. (1843) vol. x. p. 922 (juv.), vol. xii. p. 177 (1843).
Buceros nigralbus, Hodg. Gray, Zool. Misc. (1844) p. 85.
Buceros affinis 3 Hutton, Journ. Asiat. Soc. Beng. vol. xviii. p. 802; Blyth, Cat. B. Mus. Asiat. Soc. Beng. (1849)
p. 43. sp. 178; Gray, Hand-1. B. pt. ii. (1870) p. 128. sp. 7875.
Hydrocissa albirostris, Horsf. & Moore, Cat. B. Mus. E.-Ind. Co. (1856-8) vol. ii. p. 589. sp. 870; Cab. & Hein.
Mus. Hein. Th. ii. (1860) p. 171. no. 471; Jerd. B. Ind. vol. i. (1862) p. 247. sp. 142; Blyth, Ibis (1866)
p. 351 ; Blanford, Ibis (1870) p. 466 ; Jerd. Ibis (1872) p. 5. sp. 142 ; Schleg. Mus. Pays-Bas (1862) p. 6 ; Blyth,
B. of Burma (1875) p. 68. sp. 69; Sharpe, Proc. Zool. Soc. (1875) p. 102; Salvad. Cat. Ucelli Bor. p. 82.
Hydrocissa affinis, Jerd. B. Ind. vol. i. p. 247. sp. 143 (1862) ; Blyth, Ibis (1866) p. 349.
Hydrocissa coronata, Godwin- Austen, Journ. Asiat. Soc. Beng. (1870) p. 95.
Hab. Midnapore district, Bajmahal, Monghyr, Nepal, Assam, Sylhet, Arrakan, Tenasserim Provinces, Deyra
Doon, Burma, Tonghoo; Karen Hills (Blyth) ; Borneo (Schlegel) ; Labuan (Low).
Gmelin was the first to describe this bird ; and although the colouring of the tail renders it
easy to he distinguished from its near relatives the A. coronatus and A. convexus, yet it has been
frequently confounded with them, and the synonymy has not been an easy task to unravel.
Shaw, as in the case of A. coronatus, conferred the name of albirostris upon the species,
evidently oblivious of Gmelin's prior name ; and many writers have followed him, so that it is
perhaps better known by Shaw's appellation than by its rightful one of malabaricus. It differs
from both coronatus and convexus in having the lateral tail-feathers black to within a short distance
of the tips, which are white, whereas in the other species these feathers are wholly white ; and
from coronatus it can in addition be distinguished by the black patch on the casque extending
onto the maxilla, which is never seen in examples of the allied species. It has a more northern
range than the coronatus. The two species meet in the jungles of Midnapore, whence the present
bird goes north to the base of the Himalayas, and then eastward as far as Burmah.
Blyth has separated the bird from the Deyra Doon as distinct, under the name of B. affinis,
,J
-.„- . -
simply on account of its larger size. Specimens vary greatly ; and from the fact that as small ones
are fonnd among Deyra-Doon examples as are met with from other localities, I do not consider that
there are two species. With respect to this so-called species of Blyth's, Dr. Jerdon remarks (Ibis,
1872, p. 5), "this is the Gachar bird noted by Major Godwin- Austen in his list of birds as coronata.
His measurements quite agree with those of the next supposed species, H. affinis, Blyth, and confirm
me in my doubts as to this bird being distinct. My suspicions were aroused by observations in
the Dehra Doon, where I killed one or two individuals of the supposed species of much smaller
size, nearly corresponding with the dimensions of H. albirostris" Tickell says that this bird is
nearly omnivorous, but prefers fruit to other food. It breeds in Arakan and the Tenasserim
provinces in July or August ; and the female is stated to lay from two to four white eggs, in the
hollow of a tree, without any nest.
Schlegel, in his catalogue of the birds of this family contained in the Leyden Museum
states that a skeleton of this species was obtained during the voyage of M. Diard, at Pontianak, in
Borneo ; and Mr. Low has sent it in a small collection of birds from Labuan.
Bill and casque yellowish white ; base of casque, a broad patch at the anterior end of the
same extending onto the maxilla, and the base of mandible jet-black. Casque about equal in
height to the depth of the bill, narrow and sharp in front, swelling into a rounded form behind,
and extending over the head at a rather sharp angle. The casque in the male extends forwards,
following the line of the maxilla, and ends abruptly, being about a half inch in height [at its
anterior termination. The nostrils are set in a groove on top of the maxilla, at the junction of the
casque. Close to the base of the mandible is a bare flesh-coloured spot, and one behind the eye.
Head and neck, back, wings, and tail, except the tips, black with a bluish gloss. Underparts, about
two inches of the ends of primaries, and secondaries, except the uppermost ones, and ends of the
lateral feathers of the tail pure white.
Total length 30 inches ; wing 11 ; tail 12 ; tarsus If ; bill along gape 6, length of casque 5,
height of bill and casque 3 J.
The female is like the male in plumage ; but the casque does not extend so far forward on the
maxilla, and slants towards the culmen at a different angle from that of the male. Its anterior
portion, together with the tips of the bill, are black.
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ANTHRACOCEROS FRATERCULUS
ANTHRACOCEROS FRATERCULUS,
COCHIN-CHINA PIED HOENBILL.
Anthracoceros frater cuius, Elliot, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. (1878) 5th ser. vol. i. p. 85.
Hab. Cochin China.
This species bears the same relationship to A. malabaricus as A. convexus does to
A. coronatus, and apparently represents the first-named in Cochin China. It is a smaller bird
than A. malabaricus, and has a differently shaped casque, much more compressed both
anteriorly and posteriorly. The black mark on the anterior part does not reach the maxilla,
but is confined to the casque, as is witnessed in A. coronatm; this mark in the other two
species, however, always extends onto the maxilla. The lateral rectrices, by being white upon
their apical third, show that the affinities of this species are with A. malabaricus, and not with
the others mentioned. The type (which is fully adult), and a second specimen exactly resembling
it (received at the Paris Museum since my description was published), both came from Cochin
China ; but the exact locality was not indicated. It is very interesting to notice the distribution
of these four species, and observe that, while their habitats are contiguous, yet each is restricted
to its own range of country, although the physical qualities of the different regions must resemble
each other in very many particulars. Thus A. malabaricus, which has the most northern
range of the four, is distributed from Siam and Burmah on the east, along the base of the
Himalayas to the jungles of Midnapore, on fhe west of the Bay of Bengal, its southern limit.
The Siamese examples of this species, of which I have lately seen a series that were received at
the Paris Museum, are very much smaller than Indian specimens in all their dimensions, with
small casques that appear like miniatures of those possessed by their larger brethren. The
colour of their plumage is precisely like that of A. malabaricus; and the black mark on the
casque extends onto the maxilla. They seem to be a diminutive race, but cannot be separated
specifically from A. malabaricus. In Midnapore this species meets its ally A. coronatus,
the two mingling together ; and the last-named thence ranges throughout the Indian peninsula
into Ceylon. A. convexus (the near ally of A. coronatus) is more particularly an island
species, confined, so far as is known, to Malacca, Java, Sumatra, and Borneo, and differs from its
continental relative in size as well as in the shape and marking of the casque. It is a singular
fact that there should be four such closely allied species, two of which differ from their larger
relatives in precisely the same way, illustrating in this instance that the influences peculiar to
an insular existence, as exhibited in A. convexus, have produced the same effect in regard to
its specific characteristics as have those of the continent upon A. f rater cuius.
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Adult Male. — Bill light yellow, with a black spot at base of mandible. A casque rises from
the base of the culmen, extends backwards over the centre of the head, then curves forwards, and
returns to the culmen by almost a right angle, at about one third its length from the tip of the
maxilla. This is compressed laterally at both its anterior and posterior terminations, swelling
outwards in the centre, but inclining to a keel-shape on top along its entire length. This casque
is yellow like the bill, black on its anterior face, and with a broad black patch occupying nearly
half the anterior portion, but which does not reach to the maxilla. Naked skin around the eye
and on sides of the throat flesh-colour. Head, neck, throat, upper part of breast, back, wing, and
central tail-feathers black, with dark green reflections. Entire underparts, thighs, and tips of the
secondaries and primaries pure white. Lateral tail-feathers have their apical third pure white
rest black, with green reflections. Tarsi and feet black.
Total length from base of maxilla to end of central rectrices 23^ inches, wing lOf , tail 1H
bill along gape 5£, casque on top 4|, height at base of maxilla 1J, height of bill and casque at
base 2f , tarsus If.
The figures in the Plate were drawn from the type in the Paris Museum.
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ANTHRACOCEROS MALAYANUS
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ANTHRACOCEROS MALAYANUS
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Buceros malayanus, Raffl. Trans. Linn. Soc. vol. xiii. p. 292 ; Mull, and Schleg. Verh. Geschied. Nederl. Ind. (1839-
44) pp. 23, 29; Hay, Madras Journ. (1844) vol. xiii. p. 151, ?; Blyth, Journ. Asiat. Soc. Beng. (1847) p.
995 ; G. R. Gray, Gen. Birds (1849) vol. ii. p. 399 ; Blyth, Cat. Birds Mus. Asiat. Soc. (1849) p. 43. sp. 181 ;
Wall. Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. (1855) vol. xv. p. 98 ; Schleg. Mus. Pays-B. (1862) p. 7 ; Blyth, Ibis (1866)
p. 352; G. R. Gray, Hand-1. Birds (1870) pt. ii. p. 128. sp. 7879; Giebel, Thes. Ornith. (1872) p. 500; Sclat.
List Vert. Anim. (1877) p. 225. sp. 352.
Buceros antarcticus, Swain. Class. Birds, vol. ii. p. 296.
Buceros antracicus, Temm. Plan. Col. vol. ii. no. 529.
Buceros bicolor, Eyton, Proc. Zool. Soc. (1839) p. 104 ; Blyth, Journ. Asiat. Soc. Beng. (1843) vol. xii. pt. ii.
p. 995, $ .
Buceros elliotti, Lord A. Hay, Madras Journ. (1844) vol. xiii. pt. 2, p. 152; id. Journ. Asiat. Soc. Beng. vol. xvi.
p. 995.
Buceros nigrirostris, Blyth, Journ. Asiat. Soc. Beng. (1847) p. 995, (1849) p. 803 (?) ; id. Cat. Birds Mus. Asiat.
Soc. (1849) p. 44. sp. 182; Wall. Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. (1855) vol. xv. p. 98 ; G. R. Gray, Hand-1. Birds
(1870) pt. ii. p. 128. sp. 7881.
Hydrocissa malayana, Bon. Consp. Gen. Av. (1850) p. 90. sp. 5 ; Horsf. and Moore, Cat. Birds Mus. E.-Ind. Co.
(1856-8) vol. ii. p. 592. no. 872 ; Moore, Proc. Zool. Soc. (1859) p. 448 ; Cab. & Heine, Mus. Hein. (1860)
Th. ii. p. 170. no. 468.
Hydrocissa nigrirostris, Horsf. & Moore, Cat. Birds Mus. E.-Ind. Co. (1856-8) vol. ii. p. 593. sp. 873 ; Moore,
Proc. Zool. Soc. (1859) p. 449.
Hab. Malayan peninsula, Sumatra, Borneo (Blyth).
The female of this species was described by Blyth as B. nigrirostris ; but Wallace states that
he shot both the yellow- and black-billed birds on the same tree, and on dissection the black-
billed ones proved to be females. There are four specimens now before me, collected by
Mr. Wallace — two yellow-billed and two with black bills. One of each of these possess the
broad white superciliary stripe ; the other two have not this mark. Whether this is assumed when
old, or is a character of the nuptial state only — whether there may be two species, one with this
conspicuous mark and one without it, I am unable to state. All four specimens are apparently
fully adult ; and the two white-billed ones, having the posterior terminus of the casque black,
are without doubt males ; for it is seemingly a law in birds of this family with light-coloured bills
that the female should have the hind part of the casque of a different colour from that observed
in the male ; and if the bird with the white casque and without the stripe were a female, the hind
part of the casque would be white like the bill. Believing Mr. Wallace's statement to be correct
regarding the sex, we must wait further information as to when or at what period of their life the
white superciliary stripe is assumed by both sexes. Possibly it indicates the seasonal dress.
Adult Male.— Bill and casque white, the latter about equal in height to the bill. Posterior
margin of casque hidden by feathers, black. The casque projects back over the head from the
base of the maxilla, and curves forwards for about two thirds the length of the bill, terminating
in an abrupt angle, the upper end inclining forwards nearly to a point ; it is broadest at the
posterior margin, and much compressed anteriorly. In some specimens a broad white superciliary
stripe begins just forward of, and above, the eye, and extends to the occiput. Rest of plumage jet-
black, with the exception of about three inches of the tips of the lateral tail-feathers, which are
white. Bare space around the eye blue. Total length 30 inches, wing 13, tail 13, tarsus If, bill
along gape 5f , height of bill and casque at base 5 i, length of casque 5 J.
Female. — The bill and casque black, the latter moderate in size, and terminating abruptly
anteriorly. A broad white stripe in some examples commences at the base of the casque, goes
above the eye, and extends to the occiput. Rest of plumage jet-black, with the exception of the
tips of lateral tail-feathers, which are white. Bare skin around the eyes livid ; iris greyish brown.
Total length 24 inches, wing 12, tail 12, bill along gape 5, length of casque 2|, height of bill and
casque 2-|.
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CRANORRHINUS CASSIDLX.
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CRANORRHINUS CASSIDIX.
CELEBES HOENBILL.
Buceros cassidix, Temm. Planch. Col. vol. ii. pi. 210 ; Wagl. Syst. Av. (1827) sp. 3; Griff. Anim. King. (1829)
vol. ii. p. 434, pi. j Less. Trait. Ornith. (1831) p. 253. sp. 6; id. Man. Ornith. vol. ii. p. 105; Mull. & Schleg.
Verh. Geschied. Nederl. Ind. (1839-44) p. 24; G. E, Gray, Gen. Birds (1849) vol. ii. p. 399. sp. 22; Schleg.
Mus. Pays-B. (1862) p. 9; Gieb. Thesanr. Ornith. (1872) p. 497.
Calao cassidix, Bon. Consp. Gen. Av. (1850) p. 90. sp. 1.
Cassidix cassidix, Bon. Consp. Vol. Anisod. (1854) p. 3. gen. 10. sp. 27.
Cranorrhinus cassidix, Cab. & Heine, Mus. Hein. (1860) Th. ii. p. 173. no. 476; Wald. Trans. Zool. Soc. (1872)
vol. viii. p. 47. sp. 58.
Buceros {Cranorrhinus) cassidix, G. R. Gray, Hand-1. Birds (1870) pt. ii. p. 129. sp. 7889.
Hab. Celebes : Tondano (Reinwardt) ; Menado (Walden); District of Maros, Macassar (Wallace).
In the eighth volume of the i Transactions of the Zoological Society,' in his paper on the
birds of Celehes, Lord Walden gives woodcuts of the heads of the adult and young of hoth sexes
of the species, illustrating the development of the casque. This in the young male is very much
swollen posteriorly, hut slopes rapidly forwards to the culmen, forming a graceful curve. The
mandibles are quite smooth. In another, rather older individual, the casque has taken somewhat
the form of the adult's, and is upright at its anterior end, and more separated from the culmen
along its lower line. The base of the mandibles is covered by a plate ; but there are no grooves.
In the adult male the casque is nearly of the same thickness throughout, being less compressed,
anteriorly and less swollen posteriorly, while it inclines anteriorly to the culmen by an acute
angle. The casque possesses several distinct undulations. The base of the mandibles is grooved
deeply, diagonally, forming two folds on the maxilla, and three on the mandible. The cutting-
edges of the bill are much broken on their anterior half. The adult female has a similar casque,
but smaller ; the anterior edge stands at a right angle to the culmen, and the grooves on the
mandibles form three folds on each. The bill appears to increase in length, even after the wings
and tail have become fully grown.
Of the economy and habits of this fine species, I have not been able to find much recorded.
Mr. Wallace met with it during his sojourn in Celebes ; and from his observations it would appear
to eat insects ; for he states that he has taken fragments of large long-horned Batocerce from the
gullet of individuals, and once he saw a C. cassidix capture one of these insects, beat it repeatedly
against a branch, and then swallow it. In flying, like other members of this family, it makes a
great noise with its wings.
Male. Bill large, curved, orange-yellow, except the basal portion, which is dark red and
< I!
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crossed by three or more prominent transverse ridges. A high, upright, keel-shaped casque
swollen in the posterior portion, descending rapidly from the anterior terminus, rises from tl
centre of the culmen about one third its length from the base, and extends backwards to th
middle of the head ; this casque is of a uniform deep red. Bare skin around the eye blue • that
on throat bluish white, crossed on the lower part by a narrow black line. Occiput and nane
chestnut. Sides of face and neck and upper part of breast light tan-brown colour. Entire rest of
plumage of body and wings black, with greenish reflections. Tail pure white.
Total length 40 inches ; wing 18 ; tail 14; bill along the gape 9, height at base with casque
5 ; length of casque 4J, height in front from culmen 2f . These measurements are taken from a
yery fine adult specimen, and possibly exceed the average.
Female. — Bill, casque, bare skin around eyes and throat, and the tail the same as the male
rest of plumage black.
Total length 29| inches, wing 15J, tail 11, bill 6J, casque 4.
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CRANDRRHINUS CORRUGATUS
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CRANORRHINUS CORRUGATUS.
WKINXLED-BILL HOKNBILL,
Buceros corrugatus, Temm. Plan. Col. (1830) vol. ii. no. 531 ; Miill. & Schleg. Verh. Gesch. Ned. Ind. (1839-44)
pp. 24, 31, sp. x.; Gray, Gen. Birds, (1849) vol. ii. p. 399. sp. 20; Schleg. Mus. Pays-B. (1862) p. 9; Sclat.
Proc. Zool. Soc. (1868) p. 261; Bartl. Proc. Zool. Soc. (1869) p. 142; Flow. Proc. Zool. Soc. (1869) p. 150;
Murie, Proc. Zool. Soc. (1874) p. 420.
Buceros gracilis, Temm. Plan. Col. (1832) no. 535, $ .
Buceros rugosus, Begbie, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. (1847) vol. xvii. p. 405.
Calao corrugatus, Bon. Consp. Gen. Av. (1850) p. 90. sp. 2.
Cassidix corrugatus, Bon. Consp. Vol. Anisod. (1854) p. 3.
Hydrocissa migratoria, Maing. Proc. Asiat. Soc. Beng. (1868) p. 196.
Buceros (Cranorrhinus) corrugatus, Gray, Hand-1. Birds, (1870) pt. ii. p. 129. sp. 7890.
Cranorrhinus corrugatus, Wald. Trans. Zool. Soc. vol. viii. p. 51 (1872) ; Sharpe, Ibis, (1879) p. 246 ; Salvad. Ucc.
di Borneo, (1874) p. 86.
Hab. Malacca (Diard, Begbie); Sumatra (Muller); Borneo (Schlegel,Diard); Banjermassing (Schwaner);
Sarawak (Doria, Beccari) ; Lawas river (Ussher) .
This Hornbill was described by Temniinck in his Planches Coloriees, but not figured ; and the
female was also given in the same work as a distinct species under the name of Buceros gracilis.
It is a native of Malacca, Sumatra, and Borneo, very rare in collections ; and nothing is known
of its economy or habits in the wild state. A specimen living in the London Zoological Gardens
was stated by Mr. Sclater (I. c.) to have the end of the tail-feathers white instead of rufous ; I have
also noticed this as occurring in occasional specimens, but am inclined to regard it as only an
individual peculiarity, as the majority of the examples that I have seen have had the end of the
rectrices rufous or light chestnut. Salvadori, in his fine work on the Birds of Borneo (L c), states
that the male of this species has the bare skin of the throat canary-yellow, and the iris dark red,
while the iris of the female is yellowish brown.
In the 'Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London' for 1869, Mr. Bartlett gives an account
of the sac, containing undigested food, cast up by a Hornbill of this species, at that time an
inmate of the Gardens in Regent's Park. This curious object was submitted to Dr. Murie for
examination, who ascertained it to be simply the " thickened semichondrified lining membrane
of the gizzard. All the puckerings and indentations were more or less exactly represented, though
less sharp in outline than is ordinarily the case. The mucous surface of the inner wall of the baa-
was slimy, otherwise perfectly identical with the same structure in a healthy bird. The surface
outside, on which might be said to be the submucous tissue, was moist, comparatively uninjured,
:._.- . ;_
and free from any effusion or disease. The rim of the mouth of the bag was irregular and shredd
and thinned away at its free edge." This sac contained seven or eight discoloured grapes in a
undigested state, but, from their appearance, had been acted upon by the gastric juice. Somewhit
alarmed at finding the individual thus deprived of the coating of its gizzard, Mr. Bartlett kent
close watch upon the bird, and in a day or two afterwards obtained another specimen of this ba^
of fruit, which in every way was like the first. As the Hornbill evidently suffered no inconvenience
from the loss of this epithelial lining of the gizzard, it was not the result of disease • and
Mr. Bartlett' s conclusion was, that it was the means by which the male Hornbill supplies the
female with food during incubation when she is walled up in the hollow of a tree. At such times
the female generally becomes quite fat, while, according to Dr. Livingstone (Missionary Travels
in South Africa, p. 613), " the poor slave of a husband gets so lean that on the sudden lowering
of the temperature, which sometimes happens after a fall of rain, he is benumbed, falls down, and
dies." This exhaustion, Mr. Bartlett naturally considers, is caused " not only by the constant and
continued reproduction of the actual food taken by the male, but also by the supply of nutritive
secretion in which the same is enveloped." Many kinds of birds are in the habit of casting up
their food, at times, in a partially digested state for the nourishment of the young, or, as in the
case of Raptorial birds, in the shape of pellets formed of feathers, bones, or hair of the creatures
they have made their prey ; but in no instance that I am aware of is this accompanied by the
stomach's walls, save among the species of the Bucerotidse ; and this may be naturally regarded as
the most wonderful habit of the members of this extraordinary family.
Male.— Bill curved, yellow. A bright-red casque rises from the culmen nearly halfway from
the tip, and projects back onto the head above the eye, with two deep plaits on the anterior
terminus. Skin around the eye blue; bare skin of throat red, with blackish mottlings. Top of
head and back of neck, wings and body black. Sides and front of neck to breast white, Tail,
basal half black, rest light chestnut.
Bill along culmen 7 inches, length of crest on maxilla 3, height of maxilla and crest %
width of mandible If, height of crest 1, from eye to end of bill 5f, wing 14£, tail 11 J, tarsus 2.
Female has the bill and crest yellow, the latter much smaller than that of the male ; bare
skin of eye and throat blue. Entire plumage black, except terminal half of tail, which is light
chestnut.
Bill from eye to tip 4f inches, width of bill 2f, length of crest 2|, wing 13£, tail 10.
My description and figures were taken from specimens in the collection of the British Museum.
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CRANORRHINUS WALDENI
LOED WALDEN'S HOBNBILL.
Cranorrhinus waldeni, Sharpe, Trans. Linn. Soc. 2nd ser. Zool. vol. i. (1877).
Hab. Island of Panay, Philippines.
This fine and interesting species was obtained in the island of Panay, one of the Philippines,
by Professor Steere, who lately brought to England a collection of birds from the islands forming
that group. Mr. Sharpe described this species in a memoir upon the birds of the Philippines,
published in the < Transactions of the Linnean Society,' and named it after the President of the
Zoological Society, Viscount Walden.
Professor Steere has given a short account of his meeting with this species, which is all we
know about it ; and for the opportunity of inserting it here I am indebted to Mr. Sharpe, who
kindly sent me a copy of his MS. The discoverer of this bird states :— " I shot this Hornbill on
the highest ridge of the mountains west of Ilo-Ilo. This is the only place where any of the virgin
forest is left ; and here alone I saw these birds. They were not very scarce ; but I could only get
a single specimen, as they flew so high in the trees that my gun could scarcely reach them."
The C. waldeni belongs to a small group in this family, now composed of four species,
characterized by a rather small upright casque, corrugated laterally. It appears to be nearest
allied to the C. cassidix, and, like its immediate relatives, is rather a showy-looking bird. The
type, which is unique, has been taken to America by Professor Steere. Bill red, the basal half of
the mandible crossed by several prominent curved ridges. An upright keel-shaped casque,
broadest on its posterior end, rises above the eye and extends for nearly two thirds the length of
the maxilla, its anterior end being at a right angle to the culmen ; this casque is deeply grooved
along its sides for two thirds its length from the anterior terminus. General colour above and
below greenish black, wings also the same. Head and neck dark chestnut, fulvous above the eye
and on the ear-coverts. Tail cinnamon, apical portion and basal third greenish black. The
figure is two fifths the natural size.
The female is not known ; but she will probably be found to have a general black plumage,
with the tail, and perhaps the casque, similar to those of the male. In size she will be slightly
smaller.
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CRANORRHINUS LEUCO CEPHALUS
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CRANORRHINUS LEUCOCEPHALUS
WHITE-HEADED HOENBILL.
Buceros leucocephalus, Vieill. Nouv. Diet. Hist. Nat. (1816) vol. iv. p. 592.
Buceros sulcatus, Temm. Plan. Col. vol. ii. pi. 69 ; Wagl. Syst. Av. (1827) sp. 10 ; Less. Trait. Ornith. (1831)
p. 254. sp. 11 • Gray, Gen. Birds (1849), vol. ii. p. 400. sp. 25 ; Schlegel, Mus. Pays-B. (1862) p. 10; Gray,
Hand-1. B. pt. ii. (1870) p. 129. sp. 7891.
Tockus sulcatus, Bon. Consp. Gen. Av. (1850) p. 91. sp. 1.
Calao sulcatus, Bon. Consp. Vol. Anisod. (1854) p. 3.
Buceros (Penelopides) sulcatus, Von Mart. Jonrn. fur Ornith. (1866) p. 18.
Cranorrhinus leucocephalus, Wald. Trans. Zool. Soc. (1875) p. 165, pi. 27. fig. 1 ($), fig. 2 ( ? ); id. Proc. Zool. Soc.
(.1877) p. 824. sp. 28.
Hab. Mindanao (Schlegel) ; Island of Camiguin (Brit. -Mus. specimen).
The adult of this species is known to ornithologists chiefly from Temminck's plate, taken from
the specimen in the Leyden Museum. It seems to be allied to C. cassidix from its elevated casque
and deep transverse grooves at the base of the mandible. It was first described by Vieillot, as
given above ; but Temminck afterwards called it sulcatus, by which name it has usually been
recognized, Vieillot' s description having been overlooked. Although the latter states that the
plumage is black generally, yet he says, at the same time, that his description was taken from
Temminck's specimen. He probably had a female before him.
Male. — Bill curved, red. An elevated crest of a bright red colour, corrugated with deep
furrows, runs along the culmen for about one half its length. At base of mandible are four deep
diagonal ridges. Top of head and back of neck dark foxy red. Throat bare at base of mandible
for about an inch ; this is fiery orange-red ; around the skin the feathers are whitish. Bare skin
around the eyes bright orange-red. Side of neck and upper part of breast deep buff. Best of
body and wings black. Tail buffy white, probably darker in life, with an apical black band. Iris
crimson ; feet dark brown.
Bill from eye to tip 5 inches, length of casque 2f, height of casque 1J inch, from edge of
maxilla to top of casque 2, width of mandible 1 inch, wing 14, tail 10, tarsus 2. (Ex type,
Leiden Museum.)
Female. — Jet black. Tail buffy white, with an apical black band.
Total length 20J inches, wing 11, tail 9, bill 4J. (Ex specimen in British Museum.)
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PENELOPIDES MANILLA
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PENELOPIDES MANILLA.
MANILLA HOKNBILL.
Manilla Hornbill, Lath. Gen. Syn. (1781) vol. i. p. 354. sp. 9.
Calao de Manille, Buff. PI. Enlum. (1783) no. 891 (juv. <J).
Buceros manilla, Bodd. Tab. PI. Enlum. D'Aubent. (1783) p. 54.
Buceros manillensis, Gmel. edit. Linn. Syst. Nat. (1788) vol. i. p. 361; Lath. Ind. Ornith. (1790) vol. i. p. 145;
Dumont, Diet. Sc. Nat. (1817) vol. vi. p. 208.
Le Calao a bee cisele, Levaill. Ois. d'Amer. (1801) pi. 18 (juv. <?).
Buceros manillensis, Vieill. Nouv. Diet. Hist. Nat. (1816) vol. iv. p. 596; id. Enc. Method. (1823) p. 305.
Buceros sulcirostris, Wagl. Syst. Av. (1827) sp. 13 (<j $ ).
Tockus sulcirostris, Bon. Consp. Gen. Av. (1850) p. 91. sp. 5.
Penelopides sulcirostris, Bon. Consp. Vol. Anisod. (1854) p. 3.
Buceros panayensis, Schl. Mus. Pays-Bas, (1862) p. 11.
Buceros {Penelopides) panini, v. Martens, Journ. fur Ornith. (1866) p. 18.
Penelopides manilla, Wald. Trans. Zool. Soc. (1875) vol. ix. p. 168; id. Proc. Zool. Soc. (1877) p. 692. sp. 25.
Hab. Philippines, Luzon (Everett).
The present bird and the P. panini have been continually confounded together by all
writers on ornithology up to a very late date. It was supposed that there was but a single
species in the Philippine Islands ; and the synonymy was all placed under one head. But the
fact is, there are two forms which are very distinct, similar somewhat in the plumage of the body,
but with the tails very differently coloured, so that they may be recognized at once. These
well-marked tail-feathers are common to both sexes, so that the females can be readily assigned
to their proper males. The present species was first described by Boddaert, from Buffon's plate
of the Calao de Manille, representing a young bird. The term sulcirostris was afterwards
applied to it by "Wagler and Bonaparte. It is still a rare species, but few museums possessing
examples. The figures in the accompanying Plate were drawn from specimens kindly loaned
to me by Lord Tweeddale from his collection.
Male. — Bill. A low crest, much compressed on the sides anteriorly, rises at base of culmen,
follows the curve of the maxilla for about two thirds its length, and terminates abruptly at a right
angle to the culmen. The basal half of the maxilla is covered with a jet-black plate, with ^ye
shallow transverse orange-yellow grooves. The mandible has a similar plate ; but the grooves are
narrower and deeper, and cross the plate diagonally. The remaining portion of the bill and the
casque are dark brown. Bare space around the eye, at base of mandible, and upper part of throat
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white. Ear-coverts black, the feathers long, and mingled with those of the crest. A black band
encircles the throat, following the line of the nude skin. Head crested, and, together with the
neck and entire underparts, is silky yellowish white. Back and rump dark olive-brown, the latter
with the edges of some feathers orange. Wings dark shining green, the edges of the webs of
primaries and secondaries rufous brown. The tail has the outer rectrices the same colour as the
wings, with a broad orange-red bar on the terminal . third ; the median feathers rufous brown •
on the four central rectrices the orange bar is darkest in colour, becoming lighter as it goes to the
outer feathers, and is confined to the inner web of the outside one, not passing the shaft. Irides
crimson. Feet and nails dull black.
Total length without bill 18-J inches, wing 9|, tail 9, bill 3J ; casque on top 2^, height at an-
terior end ^ ; tarsus 1-J.
Female. — Bill like that of the male, but smaller. Head and crest leaden grey. Cheeks black •
and a blackish band follows the line of the nude skin, which is distributed in the same way as
that of the males. Neck and underparts mouse-colour, tinged with rufous brown. Wings and tail
like those of the male.
The colouring of the soft parts is taken from Mr. Everett's notes, made at Luzon from the
birds in the flesh, and kindly communicated to me by Lord Tweeddale.
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PENELOPIDES PANINI
PENELOPIDES PANINI
PANAYAN HOKNBILL.
Le Calao male a bee cizele de I'Isle Panay, Sonn. Voy. Nouv. Guin. (1776) p. 123, pi. 82 ? .
Le Calao femelle a bee cizele de I'Isle Panay, Sonn. Voy. Nonv. Guin. (1776) p. 124, pi. 83 <?.
Panayan Hornbill, Lath. Gen. Syn. (1781) vol. i. p. 353. sp. 8.
Calao de VIsle Panay, Buff. Plan. Enlum. (1783) no. 780 $ , 781 <$ .
Buceros panini, Bodd. Tab. Plan. Enlum. D'Aub. (1783) ; G. E. Gray, Gen. Birds (1849) vol. ii. p. 340. sp. 23;
Eyton, Osteol. Av. p. 63 (1867) ; Giebel, Thes. Ornith. (1872) p. 502.
Buceros panay ensis, Scop. Faun, et Flor. Insub. (1786) p. 87. sp. 30; Gmel. Syst. Nat. (1788) vol. i. p. 360; Lath.
Ind. Ornith. (1790) vol. i. p. 144; Shaw, Gen. Zool. (1811) vol. viii. p. 33; Vieill. Nouv. Diet. Hist. Nat.
(1816) vol. iv. p. 594 ; id. Ency. Meth. (1823) p. 304 ; Temm. Plan. Col. (1824) vol. ii. sp. 12 ; Ersch u.
Grub. Ency. (1824) p. 287 ; Blyth, Cat. Birds Mus. Asiat. Soc. (1849) p. 45. sp. 188.
Le Calao a bee cizele male, Le Vaill. Ois. Hares d'Amer. (1801) vol. i. pi. 16, ? ad.
La femelle du Calao a bee cizele, Le Vaill. Ois. Bares d'Amer. (1801) vol. i. pi. 17, <$ ad.
Penelopides panay ensis, Bon. Consp. Vol. Anisod. (1854) p. 3.
Penelopides panini, Cab. & Heine, Mus. Hein. (1860) Th. ii. p. 168. sp. 465 (partim) ; Wald. Trans. Zool. Soc.
(1875) vol. ix. p. 166, pi. 28. fig. 1 $, fig. 2 ? .
Buceros {Penelopides) panini, G. R. Gray, Hand-1. Birds (1870) pt. ii. p. 129. sp. 7892.
Hab. Moluccas, Philippines (Blyth).
The synonymy of this bird has been even more confused than that of its ally, the P.
manillce, and from the same cause, viz. the supposition that there was only one species. Lord
Walden in his paper " on the Birds of the Philippine Islands," gives a figure of this one, with
correct synonymy and description.
The deep-chestnut tail, with apical black band glossed with green, will always serve to dis-
tinguish it from its relative, the P. manillce. It was first described and figured by Sonnerat, who
confounded the sexes, mistaking the male for female, as the Calao a bee cizele de VIsle Panay,
and afterwards by Buffon in the ' Planches Enluminees,' under Sonnerat's name. Boddaert gave
to this figure the Latin appellation of Buceros panini. It is a very rare species in collections,
though lately some good series of specimens have been obtained.
Of its habits and economy nothing has as yet been recorded by any of those persons who have
obtained it in the countries it ii] habits.
Male. — Casque slightly elevated, deep red in colour, sharply defined on top and ending abruptly
anteriorly. Two thirds of the basal portion of the maxilla is covered by a black plate, indented
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by six perpendicular orange-yellow grooves. Ease of mandible covered by a similar plate with six
diagonal orange-yellow grooves, narrower than those on the maxilla. Apical part of bill ap-
parently dark red, like the casque. Bare skin around the eye and upper part of throat flesh-colour
A broad black line starts from beneath the eye, extends backwards just beyond the ears and
follows the lower margin of the bare skin on the throat, becoming broadest in the centre. Rest of
head, neck, and underparts buffy white. Abdomen ferruginous ; thighs and upper tail-coverts
vent, and rump chestnut-red. Tail deep chestnut, until within two inches of the tip, when it
becomes black with a greenish gloss.
Total length without bill 20 inches, wings 10, tail 9J, bill from eye to point 4, length of
casque If, tarsus 1-J-.
Female. — Entire plumage black, with the exception of the tail, which is like that of the male.
Bill similar but smaller.
I am indebted to the Marquis of Tweeddale for the loan of the specimens here described and
figured.
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PENELOPIDES AFFINIS
ALLIED HOBNBILL.
Penelopides affinis, Tweeddale, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. ser. 4, vol. xx. p. 534 (1877) ; id. Proc. Zool. Soc. (1877)
p. 824. sp. 29, (1878) pp. 108, 341, 947.
Hab. Zamboanga, Butuan, Surigao, Island of Mindinao, Dinagat, Amparo, South Leyte, Philippines
(Everett) .
This bird, described by the late Lord Tweeddale {I c), is a representative form of
P. panini, and differs in not having the perpendicular grooves on the lateral plates of the
maxilla, these being smooth, and also by having the grooves on the mandible straight instead of
curved as in P. panini. The bill is altogether less powerful. The abdominal region and under
tail-coverts are coloured like the breast, and not rufous as in its ally ; and the rectrices have
a black band at their insertion. Lord Tweeddale states that." in one example some of the black
upper tail-coverts are tipped and margined with dirty rusty. An old Surigao female has
several of the secondary quills margined with ferruginous. A young Surigao male has a small
part of the outer webs of the fourth, fifth, and sixth primaries edged albescent. An old Surigao
male has the thigh-coverts, ventral region, and under tail-coverts pale rufous, and most of the
upper tail-coverts as in P. pcrnini, otherwise as in typical affinis. In a Butuan and a Surigao
male, the middle pair of rectrices, with the exception of the basal black band, are rufous
throughout, the normal black terminal band being only indicated by black blotches. The new
rectrices are pale fulvous white (instead of ferruginous) when they first come in. The number of
grooves on the mandible varies from three to four. The extreme altitude of the bill, ending at
the nostril, is 1*06 inch, whereas in P. pcmini it is 137.
" 6 . Wing 9*25 inches, tail 9'00, tarsus 1*75, culmen 3'40.
" $ . Wing 8-75 inches, tail 8*37, tarsus T60, culmen 3*25.
" a, d , Butuan, May : iris crimson ; orbital skin, nude portion of skin, and unfeathered
part of the rami white ; casque, smooth lateral plates of maxilla, and the ungrooved triangular
space at base of mandible dark brown ; the whole apical part of the maxilla from the smooth
lateral plates, and of mandible from the grooved base, pale brown; grooves on mandible
dark brown ; intermediate smooth spaces light ochreous ; feet greenish lead-colour ; nails
greyish black, b, $ , Butuan, May : iris crimson ; orbital skin, nude part of chin, and
unfeathered part of the rami dark blue ; bill brown ; feet dark greenish leaden, c, d, s ? ,
Surigao, May."
The specimens figured are the types of Lord Tweeddale's species, kindly loaned to me by
Captain Bamsay, their present owner.
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CEBATOGYMNA ELATA.
CERATOGYMNA ELATA
YELLOW-CASQUE BLACK HOEOILL.
Buceros elatus, Temm. Plan. Col. (1830) vol. ii. no. 521, fig. 1 (bill); Cass. Joum. Acad. Nat. Sc. Phil. (1849-50)
vol. i. p. 135; G. E. Gray, Gen. Birds (1849), vol. ii, p. 390. sp. 13; Sundev. Ofvers. Kongl. Vetensk. Akad.
Forh. (1849) p. 161 ; Hartl. Journ. fiir Ornith. (1854) p. 126. sp. 386, (1861) p. 261 ; Hartl. Ornith. West-
Afr. (1857) p. 161; J. H. Gnrney, Ibis (1859) p. 153; Schleg. Mus. Pays-Bas (1862) p. 18; Eyton, Osteol.
Av. (1867) p. 63; Sharpe, Ibis (1872) p. 67; Sclater, Rev. List Vert. Anim. (1872) p. 72.
Buceros cultratus, Sundev. Ofvers. Kongl. Vetensk. Akad. Fork (1849) p. 160 ? ; Jard. Contr. Ornith. (1852)
p. 161; Hartl. Journ. fiir Ornith. (1854) p. 127. sp. 390; Hartl. Ornith. West-Afr. (1857) p. 161.
Bucorvus elatus, Bon. Consp. Gen. Av. (1850) p. 89. sp. 2.
Ceratogymna elata, Bon. Consp. Vol. Anisod. (1854) p. 2.
Buceros {Ceratogymna) elatus, G. R,. Gray, Hand-1. Birds (1870) pt. ii. p. 130. sp. 7909.
Hab. Sierra Leone to the Gaboon (Schlegel).
This truly fine species is a native of the west coast of Africa, where it is met with from Sierra
Leone to the Gaboon. It is nearest allied to Sphagolobus atratus; and the colour of the plumage of
the two species is not unlike ; but the shape of the casques and the hues of the rectrices will always
readily distinguish them. Although a large and conspicuous bird, nothing has been recorded about
its economy or habits ; and it is not very frequently seen in collections. Even among the extra-
ordinary forms met with in this family, the present species is remarkable for the great develop-
ment of its casque and its powerful bill. On account of this, as well as the peculiar shape of the
casque, Bonaparte placed this species in a separate genus; and his term Ceratogymna I have
adopted, as the bird seems to possess characters which fairly entitle it to a distinct generic rank.
Occasionally individuals of this species have been brought alive to Europe and exhibited in zoolo-
gical gardens. In 1871 a male was an inmate of the Eegents'-Park Gardens.
Male.— Bill large, curved, black. Erom about its centre a high casque rises, rather flat on
its anterior face, keel-shaped on top, and curves back over the head, becoming swollen towards its
posterior margin; along the sides of this casque are several deep longitudinal grooves; the
general colour is yellow, with the exception of the posterior terminus and lower edges of the' sides
next the maxilla, which are black. The bare skin around the eye and the greater part of the
throat is dark blue ; lowest portion of throat scarlet. Sides of the neck buffy white, central
portion of feathers black. Head crested, and, together with the feathers of the body and wings,
black. Two central rectrices black, remainder white. Eeet black.
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Bill from eye to tip 7 inches, length of casque along culmen 6, height 3, from lower edge of
mandible to top of casque 5, wing 16^, tail 14^, tarsus 2^.
Female. — Bill and casque yellow. The latter is a modified form of the male's, sloping
forward gradually to the culmen. Head, neck, and crest ferruginous ; rest of plumage like that
of the male. The scarlet on the lower part of the throat is apparently wanting.
Bill 6 inches, height 2f , wing 14^, tail 11^.
The specimens described and figured are in the British-Museum collection.
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SPHAGOLOBUS AT RAT US
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SPHAGOLOBUS ATRATUS
BLACK HOBOILL
Jfocmw afrafe*, Temm. PI. Col. (1830) vol. ii. pi. 558 ; G. R. Gray, Gen. Birds (1849) vol. n p 399 sp 11 •
Hartl. Jonrn. fiir Ornith. (1854).p. 127. sp. 387 ; id. Ornith. West-Afr. (1857) p. 162; Schleg. Mus Pays-B^
(1862) p. 18; Bocage, Jorn. Sc. Math. Lisb. (1868) vol. ii. p. 347. sp. 97; Sharpe, Ibis (1872) p. 67- Giebel
Thesaur. Ornith. (1872) p. 496; Garrod, Proc. Zool. Soc. (1873) p. 464.
Bucorvus atratus, Bon. Consp. Gen. Av. (1850) p. 89. sp. 3.
Tmetoceros atratus, Bon. Consp. Vol. Anisod. (1854) p. 12.
Buceros poensis, Fras. Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. (1855) p. 136 ( ? ).
Hydrocissa atratus, Cab. & Hein. Mus. Hein. (1860) Th. ii. p. 171. no. 472.
Sphagolobus atratus, Hein. Jonrn. fiir Ornith. (1864) p. 188. sp. 149; Cab. & Hein. Mus. Hein. Th. ii. p. 171.
Buceros {Sphagolobus) atratus, G. R. Gray, Hand-1. Birds (1870) ii. p. 131. sp. 7914.
Hab. Ashantee (Pel) ; Fernando Po (Fraser) ; Gold Coast (Schlegel).
Although a close ally of B. {Ceratogymna) elatus, the present species is always to be distin-
guished from it by the shape of the casque and the colouring of the rectrices. The casques of the
two birds, indeed, bear no resemblance to each other— that of the present species being swollen and
rounded on its upper edge, with both the posterior and anterior ends presenting a steep angle
with the oilmen. The females of the two are similar in appearance ; but the colouring of the tail
will indicate the species. Both are natives of the west coast of Africa, their range into the
interior being unknown.
Male.— Maxilla and tip of mandible black ; mandible apparently reddish on its basal half ;
casque large, swollen and rounded on top, curving similarly to the culmen, rises from the maxilla
about one third from the tip, inclines forward at a steep angle, and extends backward over the
head, and returns to the base of the maxilla at a rather acute angle. Lower portion along the
bill black ; upper part and anterior end apparently light horn-colour. Head covered by a long
crest, which with the entire plumage of the body is black glossed with dark purple. Wings and
tail dark green ; of the latter the terminal third of all the feathers except the median ones white.
Tarsus black. Length of crest 7J inches, height 1\ ; length of bill 6£ inches; height of
mandibles 2 inches ; wings 15J inches ; tail 14 inches. Total length without bill 26 inches.
Female.— Bill and casque much smaller than the male; the latter rises upright from the
culmen, is rounded on top, increases in width towards its posterior end, and is lost in the crest of
the head. Maxilla and point of mandible black ; the base of the mandible is apparently red ; a
white spot near the base of maxilla extending onto the mandible. Casque black on sides, horn-
colour on top. Head, neck, and upper part of breast brick-red. Plumage of body black with
purple reflections. Wings and tail dark green; all the feathers of the latter, except the
median ones, have their terminal third white. Length of bill 4J inches, height to top of
crest 2J ; wing 13^ inches ; tail 10^ inches. Total length 24 inches.
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1IM0N0PHALUS MONTANI
Ea.riha.rh imp
LIMONOPHALUS MONTANI
S00L00 HOENBILL,
Buceros montani, Oust. Bull. Hebd. Assoc. Scien. France, p. 193 (1880).
Hab. Sooloo Island, Sooloo archipelago.
This interesting species, described by my friend M. Oustalet, Aide-Naturalist e to the Museum
of the Jardin des Plantes, Paris, was procured by MM. Montano and Rey, who were sent by the
French Government on a scientific mission to the Philippine archipelago. M. Oustalet, in his
short article on the species, compares it to Sjphagolobus atratus from Africa. I have not seen
this Sooloo specimen, which I believe is unique ; but, judging from Mr. Keuleman's drawing of
the type, I am led to think it represents a different genus from that containing the African species
above mentioned, and, indeed, cannot be placed in any of those in this monograph. I have
therefore proposed for it the term Limonophalus * , Nothing is recorded of its habits.
M. Oustalet's description, which is very short, states the total length to be about 80 centim.
(32 inches), the bill black, aud surmounted by a casque of 3 centim. (1J inch) height, also
black. Head and body black, with green reflections, tail white. The Plate will give a good
idea of the appearance of this new species. A description of the generic characters is given in
the text accompanying the Plates which illustrate the various genera.
* XeijAcbv, smooth surface ; (pdXos, helmet.
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BY'CAJSflSTES CRISTATUS.
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BYCANISTES CRISTATUS
CBESTED HOENBILL
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Buceros cristatus, Biipp. Faun. Abyss. (1835) vol. i. p. 3. tab. 1 ; id. Syst. Ueb. Vog. Nord-Ost-A£r. (1845) p. 79.
sp. 321; G. R. Gray, Gen. Birds (1849) vol. ii. p. 399; Von Hengl. Syst. Uebers. (1855) no. 457; Schleg.
Mus. Pays-B. (1862) p. 16; Sclat. Proc. Zool. Soc. (1864) p. Ill; Kirk, Ibis (1864) p. 326 ; Von HeugL
Jonrn. far Ornitli. (1864) p. 270; Finscb & Hartl. Reis. Ost-Afr. (1867) p. 482; Giebel, Thes. Ornith. (1872)
p. 497; Elliot, Ibis (1873) p. 178; Layard, B. of S. Afr. Sharpe's ed. (1875) p. 126. sp. 18.
Bucorvus cristatus, Bon. Consp. Gen. Av. (1850) p. 89. sp. 4.
Tmetoceros cristatus, Bon. Consp. Vol. Anisod. (1854) p. 2.
Bycanistes cristatus, Cab. Mns. Hein. (1860) p. 172 (note) ; id. Von d. Deck. Reis. vol. iii. p. 38.
Buceros (Bycanistes) cristatus, G. R. Gray, Hand-1. Birds (1870) pt. ii. p. 331. sp. 7912.
Hab. Uganda (Speke) ; Abyssinia (Ruppell, Heuglin) ; Zambesi district (Kirk).
This large and handsome bird, one of the most striking of the genus to which it belongs, has
as yet only been met with in eastern Africa, — probably, however, extending its range far into the
interior ; for Capt. Speke obtained it in Uganda. As it has not been procured anywhere on the
western coast, we may feel pretty confident it does not cross the continent. This species has never
received a second appellation, and its synonymy is without confusion. According to Kirk it is a local
species, common on the river Shire, goes in large flocks, and roosts regularly in the same place.
The natives say that the female hatches her eggs in a hole undergo und, in which she is fastened by
the male. On coming to roost they appear always to keep in pairs, and perch on the branches, of
the large trees, and generally fly away an hour before sunrise. A male that Dr. Kirk shot at,
though uninjured, fell from fear, and was secured and taken on board ship. The female came
for her mate every morning and evening, hovering over the vessel and calling for him to follow.
Although at first he took food, after five days he became sulky, would eat nothing, and died.
Male. — Bill curved, black, yellow at base ; gonys straight for two thirds its length from
base, when it turns abruptly upwards, and then follows the curve of the gape to the point. An
enormous casque rises a short distance from the tip of the bill, inclines forwards, and then curves
backwards to near the centre of the head, returning to the base of the maxilla in a steep angle. The
anterior end of this, together with the lower sides and posterior terminus, is black, the remaining
portion bright yellow. Towards the base of the bill and reaching up the sides of the casque are
several irregular roughened stria?, disappearing towards the ridge. Head covered with a rather long
loose crest, and, together with the mantle, breast, and wings, black, with green reflections. In
some adult specimens the centres of the feathers on the cheeks and sides of crest are greyish white.
&
Ear-coverts greyish. Back, rump, abdomen, thighs, upper and lower tail-coverts white. The tail
has two central feathers greenish black for their entire length ; rest greenish black for two thirds
their length from base, remaining portion white.
Bill from eye to tip 5f inches ; length of casque along curve 8, height 2f ; height of bill and
casque 4f ; wing 15 ; tail 13.
Female.— Precisely like the male in plumage, with a less- developed crest. The bill is black,
yellow at base ; and the casque is more like a swelling of the culmen, rising gradually and
extending over the centre of the head, and returning to the maxilla by a steep angle. Casque
black like the bill, striated on the sides. Length of bill 5 inches, height to top of casque 3,
wing 144, tail 11-J.
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BYCANISTES BUCCINATOR
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BYCANISTES BUCCINATOR
TBUMPETEB HOENBILL.
Buceros buccinator, Temm. Plan. Col. vol. ii. pi. 284 ; Wagl. Syst. Av. (1827) sp. 12; Less. Trait. Ornith. (1831)
p. 253. sp. 7; Gray, Gen. Birds, (1849) vol. ii. p. 399; Gurney, Ibis, (1861) p. 133; Schleg. Mus. Pays-E.
(1862) p. 17; Kirk, Ibis, (1864) p. 326; Layard, B. of S. Afr. (1867) p. 226; Finsch & Hartl. Reis. Ost-Afr.
(1867) p. 484; Giebel, Thesaur. Ornith. (1872) p. 496; Elliot, Ibis, (1873) p. 179; Layard, B. of S. Afr
Sharpens ed. (1875) p. 125. sp. 117.
Bucorvus buccinator, Bon. Consp. Gen. Av. (1850) p. 89. sp. 5.
Tmetoceros buccinator, Bon. Consp. Vol. Anisod. (1854) p. 2, gen. 3. sp. 7.
Bycanistes buccinator, Cab. & Heine, Mns. Hein. (1860) Th. ii. p. 171 ; id. von der Deck. Reis. vol. iii. p. 38.
Buceros {Bycanistes) buccinator, Gray, Hand-1. B. (1870) pt. ii. p. 130. sp. 7910.
Native name Kahomira e none (Kirk) .
Hab. Zambesi region, valley of the Shire (Kirk) ; Caffraria (Schlegel).
Temminck was the first to describe this species, which is the type of Cabanis's genus Bycanistes,
made to include all the great helmeted Hornbills of Africa with black-and-white plumage.
Although remarkable for the extent of its casque, which reaches nearly to the end of the bill, it is
exceeded in size by several others of the section to which it belongs. Its synonymy is very simple,
only one specific name having been given to it, although it has been treated to several generic
ones, Bonaparte having tried two, both of which had been employed before, viz. Bucorvus, which
was given by Lesson to B. abyssinicus, and Tmetoceros, a term used by Cabanis for the^Ground-
Hornbill. In his * Birds of the Zambesi Begion,' Kirk says that this species is " rather common in
the mountains and plains, frequenting the forests and living in small flocks. It returns every
night to the same roosting-place, leaving in the day in search of fruit. It is very fond of a
drupaceous species of Strychnos (resembling the S. potatorum of India), the fruit of which is said
to be poisonous to man. Its cry is loud and harsh." Layard says, " it was procured by Mr. Ayres
at Natal, and also included in Victorin's list. It has been forwarded to me by Mr. Henry Bowker,
who procured it in the Transkei country. His sister (Mrs. Barber) informs me that it is a very
wild and shy bird and very difficult to shoot."
Male.— BUI black, gonys straight for about one third from the base, then rising to the point of
mandible in a sharp angle. A casque proceeds from the base of the maxilla, projects backwards
over the head, then inclines forwards nearly to the point of the bill, and returns to the culmen at
an acute angle. This is yellowish towards the upper part, remainder black, the yellow colour
being widest at the posterior terminus. Head, neck, upper part of breast, flanks, and wings black
A
with greenish gloss. Abdomen, thighs, rump, upper and lower tail-coverts, and tips of secondaries
pure white. Head covered by a rather full crest, with occasional feathers spotted with white.
Tail black, glossed with green ; all the rectrices except the central ones tipped with white.
Length of bill 4| inches, length of casque 5, height of bill and casque 3, wing 12, tail 10
tarsus 2.
Female the same as the male in colour of plumage. The bill and casque black. The latter
rises from the culmen about one third its length from the tip, and inclines gradually backwards
to the head. It is occasionally roughened on the sides by longitudinal creases or depressions
running the entire length ; this is probably the evidence of age.
Length of bill 3J inches, height 2 J-, wing 10J, tail 6 J, tarsus 1\.
Specimens described and figured are in the collection of the British Museum.
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BYCANISTES SUB QUAD RATU S
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BYCANISTES SUBQUADRATUS
BLACK-AND-WHITE-CASQUE HOKNBILL.
Bycanistes subquadratus, Cabanis, Journ. fiir Ornith. (1881) p. 350, pi. i.
Hab. Angola.
This Hornbill was described by Professor Cabanis, in the ' Journal fiir Ornithologie ' as above
quoted, from a specimen procured by Herr Otto Schiitt. It resembles in its colour and markings
the species described as Buceros subcylindricus by Dr. Sclater, from a specimen living in the
Zoological Gardens, Regent's Park, and is apparently the adult male of that form. Sclater's bird
was immature ; and at the time his description was published the casque was small and sloped
forwards to the culmen ; but after some time had elapsed it had grown considerably, and nearly
covered the entire length of the maxilla. This difference in the casque is shown by a comparison
of the plate published in the 'Proceedings of the Zoological Society' for 1870, pi. 39, with the
one published in this work. The sex of B. subcylindricus is not known ; but it may be a female,
which might account for the casque being smaller than that of Cabanis's bird, a figure of which
is given in the opposite Plate. This casque presents the chief characters for separating the two
birds as distinct species. In B. subquadratus it is high, commencing in the feathers of the crest
above the head, and extends forwards in a gradual curve over two thirds the length of the
maxilla, where it terminates with the anterior edge at a right angle to the culmen. The casque
is black, with a white patch covering two thirds of the upper portion, with a projection in the
form of a U extending downwards on the side a little over halfway to the culmen. This mark
may be characteristic of the species, or it may be a peculiarity of certain individuals, as is seen
in some specimens of Anorrhinus galeritus, and may possibly indicate age. I have noticed this
yellowish-white marking upon the bills of A. galeritus ; but as it occurred on specimens obtained
in the same localities with others having all black bills, I never deemed it of any specific value.
It certainly is a very peculiar mark in the bird described by Herr Cabanis (which bears every
indication of being an old male), and may be in this instance a specific character ; but it would
be desirable to have more examples for examination before regarding B. subquadratus as distinct
from B. subcylindricus. At present we can only represent the two birds under the names their
describers gave them, trusting for additional information in the future to decide the question of
whether they are distinct or not. Of course, should they prove to belong to the same species,
the name subquadratus will become a synonym of that bestowed by Sclater on his species.
Casque as described above. Bill black, with a narrow band at the base yellowish. A long
greenish-black crest covers the top and back of the head. Sides of the head greenish black, each
feather edged with ash-grey. Ear-coverts light ash-grey. Mantle, wings, and breast metallic
.
greenish-black. Secondaries for half their apical length, rump, thighs, lower part of abdomen
and under tail-coverts white. Median tail-feathers and a broad band near the basal end of the
lateral ones metallic greenish-black; rest of tail white. Skin around eye dark brown. Iris
red-brown.
Cabanis says it is larger than either B. albotibialis or B. subcylindricus.
Bill from point to base of mandible 5 inches, breadth at base If ; length of casque on top 4f ,
height at base 2f, height anteriorly 2 ; wing lOf ; tail 10.
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BYCANISTES SUBCYLINDMCUS.
SCLATEB'S HOENBILL.
Buceros subcylindricus, Sclat. Proc. Zool. Soc. (1870) p. 668, pi. 39; Giebel, Thesaur. Ormth. (1872) p. 503;
Elliot, Ibis (1873) p. 179; Murie, Proc. Zool. Soc. (1874) p. 422.
Hab.?
This form, described by Sclater (I. c), is only known from an example living in the Zoological
Gardens. It is allied to B. cylindricus, but differs from it in the great amount of white exhibited
upon the secondaries, and the black median tail-feathers, these last being nearly all white in its
relative. Its exact habitat is not known. Unfortunately the individual, after moulting its tail,
has never since produced a perfect one, so that I have not seen the bird with that appendage as
represented in my Plate, and also in that published in the ' Proceedings of the Zoological Society '
in 1870. I consider that the principal claim this bird has to entitle it to be considered a
distinct species is in the peculiar coloration of the tail-feathers ; and it is to be regretted that the
individual in question is unwilling or unable to present us with the proof of his claim to a
distinctive rank.
Immature specimen. — Bill black ; a small casque rises at base of the culmen and slopes
anteriorly to the maxilla, also black. Head crested. Head, neck, back, and breast black with
green reflections, the feathers of the crest being spotted with cinereous grey. Abdomen, under tail-
coverts, thighs, and the greater portion of the secondaries pure white. Tail white ; a broad band
near the central part, and the whole of the two median feathers except their tips, black.
Total length 24 inches, wing 11*5, tail 10, bill along gape 4
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BYCANISTES CYLINDRICUS
CYLINDEICAL HOENBILL.
Buceros cylindricus, Temm. Plan. Col. (1830) vol. ii. no. 521, fig. 2 (bill) ; Gray, Gen. Birds, (1849) vol. ii.p. 399.
sp. 14; Hartl. Journ. fur Ornith. (1854) p. 127. sp. 388; id. Omith. West. Afr. (1857) p. 162; Schleg. Mus.
Pays-B. (1862) p. 17; Sharpe, Ibis, (1872) p. 67; Giebel, Thes. Ornith. (1872) p. 498; Elliot, Ibis, (1873)
p. 178.
Bucorvus cylindricus, Bon. Consp. Gen. Av. (1850) p. 89. sp. 6.
Tmetoceros cylindricus, Bon. Consp. Vol. Anisod. (1854) p. 2.
Bycanistes cylindricus, Cab. & Heine, Mus. Hein. (1860) Th. ii. p. 172. no. 1 (note.) ; Heine, Journ. fur Ornith.
(1860) p. 188. sp. 150.
Buceros {Bycanistes) cylindricus, Gray, Hand-1. Birds, (1870) pt. ii. p. 131. sp. 7911.
Hab. Ashantee (Pel) ; Fantee (Sharpe) .
Bycanistes cylindricus was first described by Temminck in the e Planches Coloriees,' and
the bill figured. The species bears some resemblance to B. cristatm, but can easily be
distinguished by the shape of its bill and colouring of its tail. Like all the members of this
section, there is no difficulty with the synonymy, the bird having been always designated by the
name first given. It is a native of the western coast of Africa, and apparently restricted to the
Ashantee and Fantee countries. At least these are the points from which specimens have been
received ; but it is probable that, when the distribution is fully known, it will be found to be
considerably more extensive than at present supposed. Nothing whatever, I believe, has been
recorded regarding the economy or habits ; and we can only conjecture that they would resemble
those of the other members of the genus.
Bill and casque brownish yellow, tip of bill light yellow. The casque rises from the base of
culmen, projects backwards over the head, and then inclines forward for two thirds the length of
the bill, terminating at a right angle to it. The casque is divided into two portions by a deep
furrow running from the posterior to the anterior face, above which it is rounded. The sides
have several deep irregular grooves. The mandible has also four or five diagonal furrows at its
base. Head and occiput covered by a long greenish black crest. Neck, back, breast, wings, and
thighs black with bluish green reflections. Apical portion of secondaries and primaries for one
third their length, abdomen, upper and under tail-coverts, and lower part of rump pure white.
Tail white, with a very broad central black band with greenish reflections. Tarsi and feet
black.
Total length 31 inches, bill at gape 5, casque on top 4J, height over nostril 2J, height of
bill and casque at base 3^, wing 13, tail 10J, tarsus 2.
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The female differs from the male only in the colour of bill and shape of casque. Both of
these are black. The casque rises upright from the culmen about one third from the point of
the maxilla, and extends to and a little over the head, and returns to the base of the maxilla
by an abrupt angle. It is sharp at its anterior face, but swells outwards towards the posterior
termination.
Length of bill 3f inches, height 2J ; length of casque 4J, height 2^ ; wing 1C% tail 6 1
tarsus 1-J.
The specimens described are in the British Museum.
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BYCANISTES ALBOTIBIALIS
I0ANQ0 WHITE-THIGHED HOSNBILL.
Buceros alhotibialis, Cab. & Keich. Journ. fiir Ornith. (1877) p. 103.
Hab. Loango (Cab. & Reich.).
This species was described by Herren Cabanis and Reichenow as above. It is singularly like
B. cylindriem, but differs in the shape of the casque, and in having the thighs pure white
instead of black. A drawing of the type, now in the Berlin Museum, was forwarded to me by
Dr. Cabanis, and is reproduced in the smaller figure of the plate. Its casque differs in shape
from that of an adult specimen of the same species in the British Museum, represented in the
chief figure in the illustration : in this last the casque is smooth, and projects forward to a point
over the culmen ; the bill also has the furrows fewer and slighter. This last specimen is stated
to have come from the Gaboon. The plumage of JB. alhotibialis is black, with green reflections
only, and without any of the bluish tints seen on the feathers of its relative. Both species are
very rare in collections, but few museums possessing examples ; and but little is known of their
economy or habits ; in fact, as regards the present one we know absolutely nothing.
Male. Bill black, with the exception of apical third, which is yellow. A casque rises from
base of the maxilla, inclines slightly backwards over the head, then extends by a gradual curve
forwards over the point of the maxilla, and returns by a very acute angle to the culmen, which it
reaches at about the commencement of the black colour. The posterior termination and sides of
the casque along the maxilla are black. Head covered with a loose, rather full crest, and, together
with the neck, back, and breast, it is black, with green reflections. Wings same colour as the
back, with the exception of two thirds of the secondaries and one third of the primaries (from
their tips), which are pure white. Rump, abdomen, thighs, upper and under tail-coverts pure
white. Tail also pure white, crossed near the centre by a very broad black band glossed with
green. Tarsi and feet black.
Length of bill 5 J inches, height 3f ; length of casque along curve 5^, height 2-J-; wing 13^
tail 11^, tarsus 2.
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PH0L1D0PHALUS FISTULATOR
PHOLIDOPHALUS FISTULATOR
CASSIFS HOBNBILL.
Buceros fistulator, Cass. Proc. Acad. Nat. Scien. Phil. (1850) p. 68; Hartl. Journ. fur Ornith. (1854) p. 127.
sp. 389; J. & E. Verr. Rev. Mag. Zool. (1855) p. 175; Hartl. Ornith. West-Afr. (1857) p. 162; Hein. Journ.
fur Ornith. (1860) p. 188. sp. 151; Schleg. Mus. Pays-B. (1862) p. 16; Sharpe, Ibis (1872) p. 67; Giebel,
Thesaur. Ornith. (1872) p. 498; Bocage, Proc. Zool. Soc. (1873) p. 702; Elliot, Ibis (1873) p. 179.
Buceros leucostigma, Temm. Mus. Lugd.
Tmetoceros fistulator , Bon. Consp. Vol. Anisod. (1854) p. 2.
Buceros {Bycanistes) fistulator, Gray, Hand-1. Birds (1870) ii. p. 131. sp. 7913.
Hab. Fantee (Sharpe) ; Senegal to the Gaboon (Verreaux) .
But little has been recorded of the habits and economy of this species. It was first described
by Mr. Cassin, in the ' Proceedings of the Philadelphia Academy of Sciences/ in 1850, from an
immature specimen. In the * Revue et Magasin de Zoologie ' MM. E. and J. Verreaux give
the following short account of this bird as observed by them in Africa :— " We notice that in
this species the male is always distinguished, not only by its greater size, but also by the bill, which
is larger and heavier, and which varies considerably, before attaining its full development, as is the
case in most of the species. The present bird, which is quite abundant at the Gaboon, is also
found upon the greater part of the coast as far as Senegal, wherever the forests afford it sufficient
shelter and abundant nourishment, which last consists of insects, larvae, often even berries. It
does not refuse young birds, which it seeks in their nests. Generally it is found in pairs. The
cry is strong, heard throughout the morning and evening, and just before rain. The females
deposit their eggs in the holes of trees to the number of two ; we do not know their colour, our
hunter having only found the young in October, which, with the exception of the size of the bill,
resembled their parents in every particular. During the heat of the day these birds perch in the
thickets, and remain quiet ; but they pass the night in the holes which they have chosen, and to
which they always return."
The P. fistulator, and the bird which I have named P. sharjpii, by not possessing upright
casques like the other African species to which they are related, apparently require a distinct
generic term; and therefore I propose for them that of Pholidophalus*, or scaly helmet, their low
casques seeming to be composed of flattened scales overlapping each other.
Bill has the culmen covered on its basal half by a low casque, deeply ridged transversely.
Head, neck, back, and wings black, with a greenish lustre. Underparts white. Secondaries black,
except for about an inch and a half from their ends, which are white. Tail black, the lateral
feathers with a narrow line at their bases, and their apical third white.
Total length 21 J inches, wing 11, tail 9J ; bill 4, height at base 2 inches.
I am indebted to Captain Shelley for the male figured in the Plate, loaned from his collection,
and to Mr. E. B. Sharpe for the female.
* <po\is, scale ; 0a\os, helmet.
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Hanharttmp.
PHOLIDOPHILUS SHARPII
PHOLIDOPHALUS SHARPII
SIAKPE'S HOENBILL.
Buceros fistulator, Cassin, Proc. Acad. Nat. Scien. (1859) p. 139. sp. 161 ; Sharpe, Proc. Zool. Soc. (1871)
p. 139.
Buceros sharpii, Elliot, Ibis, (1873) p. 177; Barb, du Bocage, Proc. Zool. Soc. (1873) p. 702; id. Ornith. Ang.
(1878) p. 114.
Hab. Angola (Hamilton) ; rivers Camma, Muni, and St. Paul's (DuChaillu) .
I described this bird from a fine adult male from Angola in the collection of Mr. Sharpe,
which is now in the British Museum. It is nearest allied to the B. fistulator of Cassin, but
may be easily distinguished by the white lateral rectrices— those of its relative being black,
merely tipped with white. Mr. Cassin evidently had this species before him, in a collection
sent to Philadelphia by DuChaillu, a list of which was published in the ' Proceedings of the
Academy of Natural Sciences ' for 1859 ; but he imagined it to be the adult of B. fistulator
instead of a new species, and so described it. I have seen several specimens of this species in
various museums ; and in nearly every instance it was confounded with B. fistulator. Of the
economy and habits nothing has been recorded; but this species will undoubtedly in both
resemble its near ally B. fistulator.
Bill without casque ; mandible swollen into a prominent ridge, broad, and corrugated at the
hase, becoming narrow anteriorly, and gradually falling into the outline of the culmen ; the
base, which ends abruptly about half an inch above the head, has four rather deep rounded plaits.
The mandible is rugged, and furrowed with diagonal grooves nearly to the end, with the
cutting portion serrated. The culmen and tips of bill yellowish horn-colour ; a broad stripe for
about two thirds the length of the maxilla, and nearly all the mandible (save the tip above
mentioned), black. Base of maxilla beneath the nostril and spot on base of mandible yellowish
white. Head covered with a long crest ; feathers of cheeks and throat also long and loose ; all
these parts, together with the back, black with a bright greenish lustre. Primaries black.
Secondaries, with the exception of the three innermost ones, white for three fourths their
entire length, greenish black at base; the innermost ones same colour as the back. Under
wing-coverts, lower part of breast, under tail-coverts, rump, and legs pure white. Tail,
the two median feathers black for their entire length ; the ones next to the median on
either side white for half their length from the tip, remaining portion like the central
ones; the lateral feathers pure white for their entire length, with the exception of the
outermost ones, which have the basal half of the outer webs black.
Total length 21 inches, wing 11, tail 9 J.
My description and figure were taken from the type in the British Museum.
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PHOLIDOPHALUS CASUARINUS
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PHOLIDOPHALUS CASUARINUS.
GEAT'S HOENBIIL.
Buceros casuarinus, G. It. Gray, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. (1871) vol. viii. pp. 437, 438, pi. xvii.
Proc. Zool. Soc. (1873) p. 703.
Barb, du Boc
Hab.
This form, described by Gray from a bead in the British Museum, although bearing evidence
of belonging to a fully adult individual, appears to have a stunted abnormal casque, which,
perhaps, may have been injured in some way when the bird was young. The casque, and mandible
at its base, are deeply grooved diagonally ; and the cutting-edges of both maxilla and mandible
are broken, which is only seen in adult birds. It is impossible to say whether or not the
specimen belongs to one of the known species or is a new form, as but a small bunch of feathers
remains attached to the head. It is evidently closely allied to the subgroup which contains
P. fistulator and P. sharpii, and may possibly be one of those species. Mr. Gray's description
of this head is as follows : — " Bill broad at base, laterally compressed at the tip ; casque elevated
posteriorly and extending somewhat backwards over the eyes, rather compressed along the
culmen, which is flat and grooved along the middle for two thirds of its length ; the sides of the
casque shelving to the nasal channel, and furnished with six deep oblique grooves ; the sides
below the former are comparatively smooth, and with three apparent scales near the eyes ; the
nostrils are large, and deeply imbedded in a broad channel, which runs along the sides of the
maxilla for about two thirds of its length, in which they are situated at its base ; the mandible
has the gonys long and curved to the tip, the sides are furnished with four very obliquely placed
grooves, advancing towards each other beneath the gonys ; the margins of both mandibles are
dentated in the middle. The length from the upper part of the base of the casque to the tip of
the maxilla is five inches and three lines."
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RHYTIDOCEROS UNDULATUS
HBBHHiHI
RHYTIDOCEROS UNDULATUS.
WEEATHED HOENBILL.
Le Calao a casque festonne, Levaill. Ois. Bares (1801) pis. 20, 21.
Le calao javan, Levaill. Ois. Bares (1801) pi. 22; id. Hist. Nat. Ois. Afr. (1806) p. 124.pl. 239; Vieill. Nouv.
Diet. Hist. Nat. (1816) vol. iv. p. 595.
Buceros javanensis, Wilkes?, Ency. Lond. (1808) vol. iii. p. 479.
Buceros undulatus, Shaw, Gen. Zool. (1811) vol. viii. p. 26; Less. Trait. Ornith. (1831) p. 255. sp. 12; Horsf.
Trans. Linn. Soc. vol. xiii. p. 175; Vig. App. Mem. Earn. p. 666.
Buceros javanicus, Shaw, Gen. Zool. (1811) vol. viii. p. 28; Vieill. Nouv. Diet. Hist. Nat. vol. iv. (1816) p. 595;
id. Ency. Meth. p. 401, t. 4, juv.
Buceros niger, Vieill. Nouv. Diet. Hist. Nat. (1816) vol. iv. p. 592; id. Ency. Meth. p. 400. sp. 21.
Buceros javanus, Dumont, Diet. Sc. Nat. (1817) vol. vi. p. 215.
Buceros annulatus, Dumont, Diet. Sc. Nat. (1817) vol. vi. p. 210; Drapiez, Diet. Class. Hist. Nat. (1828) vol. iii.
p. 32.
Buceros plicatus, Temm. Plan. Col. (1824) vol. ii. sp. 8 (text, partim) ; Ersch u. Grub. Ency. (1824) p. 287
(partim) ; Wagl. Syst. Av. (1827) sp. 8 (partim) ; Mull. & Schleg. Verh. Gesch. Ned. Ind. (1839-44)
pp. 24, 30 (Aves) ; G. E. Gray, Gen. Birds (1847) vol. ii. p. 399; Blyth, Cat. Birds Mus. Asiat. Soc. (1849)
p. 45. sp. 191; Hartl. Journ. fur Ornith. (1859) p. 289. sp. 30; Bernstein, Journ. fur Ornith. (1861) p. 113;
Schleg. Mus. P.-Bas (1862) p. 2; Eyton, Ost. Av. (1867) p. 60?; Sclat. Rev. List Vert. Anim. (1872) p. 170,
fig. 20; Garrod, Proc. Zool. Soc. (1873) p. 464 (nee Lath.).
Buceros ruficollis, Blyth (nee Vieill.), Journ. Asiat. Soc. Beng. (1843) vol. xii. p. 176.
Buceros pucor an , Blyth, Journ. Asiat. Soc. Beng. vol. xii. pt. ii. p. 990.
Buceros pasuran, Blyth, Cat. Birds Mus. Asiat. Soc. Beng. (1849) p. 45.
Rhyticeros plicatus, Keichenb. Syst. Av. (1849) pi. 50; Bon. Consp. Vol. Anisod. (1854) p. 3; Horsf. & Moore, Cat.
B. Mus. E.-Ind. Co. (1856-58) vol. ii. p. 598. sp. 882; Moore, Proc. Zool. Soc. (1859) p. 451; Godwin-
Austen, Journ. Asiat. Soc. Beng. (1870) pt. ii. p. 96, ? ; Jerd. Ibis (1872) p. 5 (nee Lath.).
Rhytidoceros obscurus, Cab. & Hein. Mus. Hein. (1860) Th. ii. p. 172; Salvad. Ucc. Born. (1874) p. 85 (nee
Gmel.).
Buceros (Rhyticeros) obscurus, Gray (nee Gmel.) Hand-1. Birds (1870) pt. ii. p. 129.
Aceros, sp. indet. ? Godwin-Austen, Journ. Asiat. Soc. Beng. (1870) pt. ii. p. 96. sp. 1466.
Aceros plicatus, Blyth (nee Lath.) Cat. Mamm. & Birds Burma (1875) p. 69. sp. 71.
Hab. Malayan peninsula, northward to Sylhet, Sumatra, Java (Blyth) ; North Cachar (Godwin-Austen)
Borneo.
Very great confusion exists in the synonymy of this species ; and it has been the recipient of
a large number of names. It has generally been known as the Buceros plicatus of Latham ; but
this title was bestowed upon the bird from Ceram and the neighbouring islands, called by
ornithologists Buceros ruficollis. In my article on this latter species, this question of synonymy
will be found fully worked out. After Latham's, the next name that has priority is that of
undulatus, Shaw, which is the one necessary to adopt for the species.
A very curious character of this bird is its casque formed of a succession of overlapping
scale-like ridges : these grow from the base, and push forward those in front, the lengthening of
the casque beyond a certain limit being prevented by the anterior ridges scaling off. In the young
these scale-like protuberances are larger, and thinner in substance, growing narrower and closer
by degrees.
According to Horsfield this bird is very abundant in the forests of Blambaugan, in the
eastern end of Java, where it is called barong chimburuan (or "jealous bird") on account of
the watchfulness displayed by the male during the period the female is immured in the hollow of
a tree performing the duties of incubation ; for, as stated by the natives, should another male
approach the nest during the husband's absence, he leaves the unfortunate wife to perish with
hunger, as she is unable to get out of her walled prison.
Dr. Cantor states that " the male has the bill (yellowish) white ; iris pale crimson ; gular
pouch rich gamboge yellow, with two transverse black bars ; feet blackish. And the female has
the iris narrow, golden round the pupil, the rest golden vandyke ; eyelids brick-colour ; pouch
dirty azure, with two transverse black bars ; feet blackish grey. The young male has the iris
mother-of-pearl colour ; bill yellow at the point, and bluish green at the base ; space around the
eyes, and pouch, yellow, with the transverse black bars indistinct; feet bluish black."
"This Hornbill," says Jerdon, "has been killed in North Cachar by Major Godwin- Austen.
It has not hitherto been recorded from further north than Arakan. He gives the dimensions as
follows :— length 3 feet 2 inches ; wing 18 J- inches ; extent 5 feet 2 inches ; tail 12 inches ; bill
6 1 inches ; depth of bill 3 inches."
This measurement gives the length of the species greater than I have been able to find in the
dried skins ; and it seems to me that the specimen described above must have been unusually
large, although, with the exception of the length, it does not differ much from the
average.
Male.—Bill with a roughened casque-like protuberance projecting from the base of the
culmen for nearly half its length, in the form of large scales, indented by several transverse
grooves; base of maxilla and mandible transversely grooved; bill white, with its base deep
chestnut-red, this being more extensive on the mandible, where it reaches on the gonys nearly half
its length. The scaly protuberance on the culmen also chestnut, becoming yellowish towards its
anterior terminus. Bare skin around the eye pinkish ; that of the throat rich yellow, with a
conspicuous broken ring of dark blue on its lower part. Sides of the head yellowish ; lower portion
of neck to the breast pure white. Top of head and occiput dark chestnut. Back of neck and
entire plumage of the body black, with green reflections. Tail pure white. Total length 29*
inches; wing 18 j ; tail 13; bill 6± height at base 3; tarsus 2£.
Female.-The naked skin of throat and around the eyes bright blue. Entire plumage
black. Tail white. Total length 28 inches, wing 16fc tail 11, bill 6J, tarsus 2.
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RHYTIDOCEROS SUBRUFICOLLIS.
BLYTH'S WEEATHED HOKNBILL.
Buceros subruficollis, Blyth, Journ. Asiat. Soc. Beng. (1843) vol. xii. p. 177, (1849) p. 320; Barbe, Journ. Asiat.
Soc. Beng. vol. x. p. 922.
Buceros plicatus, Blyth, Journ. Asiat. Soc. Beng. vol. xii. p. 991, vol. xvi. p. 998; id. Cat. Birds Mus. Asiat. Soc.
(1849) p. 45 (nee Forster).
Rhyticeros subruficottis, Horsf. & Moore, Cat. Birds Mus. E.-Ind. Co. (1856-8) vol. ii. p, 600.no. 883; Hume,
Nest & Eggs Ind. Birds, pt. i. (1873) p. 115; id. Str. Feath. vol. ii. (1874) p. 470; Ramsay, Ibis (1877)
p. 455.
Rhytidoceros subruficollis, Cab. & Hein. Mus. Hein. (1860) Th. ii. p. 172. no. 474; Tweeddale, Ibis (1877) p. 295.
Buceros (Rhyticeros) pusaran, Tickell, Ibis (1864) p. 180.
Buceros (Rhyticeros) subruficollis, Gray, Hand-1. B. (1870) pt. ii. p. 129. sp. 7886.
Aceros subruficollis, Blyth, Cat. Mamm. & Birds Burma, (1875) p. 69. sp. 72.
Hab. Arakan, Tenasserim Provinces (Blyth) ; Southern Shan States of Siam (Tickell) ; Lawas river, N.W.
Borneo (Ussher).
This bird was separated by Blyth from the well-known B. plicatus, Porst., on account of the
base of the mandible being smooth and without the transverse ridges so conspicuous in Eorster's
species. In B. subruficollis the mandible never possesses at any age of the bird this roughened
surface. As this difference appears to be a permanent one, it would seem to be sufficient to give
the two birds distinct specific rank. Their geographical distribution also is not the same, the
present species ranging rather more to the northward than its ally, and never going into the
Malayan peninsula. B. subruficollis may also be distinguished by never having the black
transverse bar on the gular skin of either sex, that part being yellow in the male, blue in the
female. Lieut. Wardlaw Ramsay observed this difference between the species to have been con
stant in a large series of examples collected by him in the district of Tonghoo, Tenasserim.
In regard to the curious scaly casque possessed by this bird and its allies, Mr. Blyth found,
after examining numerous specimens, that in no instance did the number of transverse ridges
exceed seven ; and he deemed it obviously apparent that they scaled off anteriorly as they were
pushed forward by the growth of those at the base of the maxilla.
Tickell says, speaking of this bird under the name of B. pusaran, that it is very numerous in
the Tenasserim Provinces and in the inland forests of Arakan. Its voice is a short gruff croak
like " kukkuk," repeated at intervals. The flight is slow and regular, capable of being continued
for a great distance ; and the noise made by the air rushing through the feathers of the wings is so
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great that it can be heard half a mile distant. Its food consists of various fruits ; and it is parti-
cularly fond of the figs of the Banian and other trees of the Ficus family. Except when feeding,
it is very shy and wary, but at such times will frequently return to the same tree even after having
been shot at. The female lays two or three coarse white eggs in the hollow of a tall tree, and,
according to the Karens, is not immured while sitting. The egg is 2" by 1^" in size. When
feeding, this species is usually silent, and on the lofty fruit-trees mixes indiscriminately with
numerous species of fruit-eating pigeons (Carpophaga, Treron, &c), as well as monkeys (Hylo-
bates lar, Semnopithecus phayrei, Inuus nemestrinus, &c), which are similarly occupied, and form
a picture so singular and strange as not easily to be forgotten when once seen. Tickell relates
that on one occasion he was on his way down the Houngthran river, " a clear pretty stream
shaded by lofty timber, eddying in deep pools, under high gravelly banks, breaking into foam and
tumbling over boulders of sandstone, or rippling along shallow beds of clean pebbles and silvery
sand. To the last-named spots, just before or during the short twilights of a tropical evening,
these Hornbills used to resort in great numbers, allowing my boat to approach pretty near. As
it glided down the stream I could thus watch them on the little sand flats, hopping freely enough
along the ground, and delving their beaks in, as if searching for worms or molluscs, while some
stood up to their bellies in the water, apparently much enjoying their bath. As the dusk gathered
over the river, I remarked them resorting to roost on the loftiest trees fringing its course. The
Karens, who live in these virgin forests, say that between the ' Yowng-yowng ' (JB. bicomis) and
the 'Owkhyennet' (the present species) there is always open war; and, in truth, I do not remember
to have remarked the two species anywhere together." He had observed parties of five or six of
this species flying over the sea at a great height, and had watched them until they " melted from
sight into the horizon, as if they had finally left the shore." As the species is not found on the
western shores of the Bay of Bengal, he could not imagine where these excursions ended. I have
lately seen, however, in Mr. Sharpe's possession, several specimens of this Hornbill, sent from
Borneo by Governor Ussher, which proves that the species inhabits that island ; and it is possible
it may also dwell upon some of the intervening ones between Borneo and Siam, where it is common.
The individuals seen by Tickell may have been on their way to some of the islands in the Bay of
Bengal ; and long flights are very possibly frequently undertaken by the species.
Lieut. Ramsay says that the Burmese have many legends about the Hornbills, and that the
name is continually occurring in their poetry and plays, whilst the female Hornbill is regarded as
a model of virtue. They also imagine that the plaster with which the bird closes the entrance
to its nest is made of earth brought from the four quarters of the globe, and mixed with a gum
extracted from trees ; and this composition is much esteemed for its medicinal properties.
Male.— Bill curved, pointed, greenish white ; base of bill and ribbed part of maxilla vinous
brown; cutting-edges in adults much broken. About a third of the culmen from its base is
covered by five or more deep plaits. This casque-like addition to the culmen is cream-colour,
with the furrows earthy. Bare skin of face and rim around the eye bright vinous brown; eyelids
pale greenish; skin of the throat bright lemon-yellow, without any black bars as in E. mdulatw.
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Top and sides of head, neck, and upper part of breast rich yellow. Centre of head occiput and
middle of neck behind deep reddish chestnut. Rest of plumage black, with green reflections.
Tail pure white. Legs black.
Total length 31 inches, wing 16, tail 11, bill along gape 7, height at base 3|, tarsus 2
Female.-Entive plumage of body black, with green reflections ; tail white. The casque-like
protuberance on the culmen is smaller than in the male, with the scales broader and fewer. Bare
skin of throat turquoise-blue.
Total length 27 inches, wing 14, tail 10 ; bill along gape 5J, height at base 2|.
The specimens figured are in my own collection.
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Hanhart imp
26
RHYTIDOCEROS PLICATUS
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RHYTIDOCEROS PLICATUS.
PAPUAN WEEATHED HOENBILL.
Buceros plicatus, Forst. Ind. Zool. p. 40 (1781), ex Dampier; Lath. Ind. Orn. (1790) vol. i. p. 146; Shaw, Gen.
Zool. (1811) vol. viii. p. 38; Vieill. Nouv. Diet. Hist. Nat. (1816) vol. iv. p. 593; Duniont. Diet. So. Nat.
(1817) vol. vi. p. 210; Vieill. Ency. Meth. (1823) vol. i. p. 306.
Wreathed Hornbill, Lath. Gen. Syn. (1787) Supp. p. 71.
Buceros obscurus, Gmel. Syst. Nat. (1788) vol. i. p. 362; Giebel, Thesaur. (1872) 501 (partim).
Buceros ruficollis, Vieill. Nouv. Diet. Hist. Nat. (1816) vol. iv. p. 600; Temm. Plan. Col. (1830) pi. 557; Mull. &
Schleg. Verh. Gesch. Ned. Ind. (1839-44) pp. 24, 30. sp. ix.; Gray, Gen. Birds (1849) vol. ii. p. 399. sp. 19;
id. Proc. Zool. Soc. (1860) p. 356, (1861) p. 436; Bernst. Journ. fur Ornith. (1861) p. 118; Schleg. Mus. Pays-
B. (1862) p. 3; Wall. Intell. Observ. (1863) vol. iii. p. 314; Sclat. Proc. Zool. Soc. (1869) p. 122; Giebel,
Thes. Ornith. (1872) p. 502.
Calao ruficollis, Bon. Consp. Gen. Av. (1850) p. 90. sp. 4.
Rhyticeros ruficollis, Bon. Consp. Vol. Anisod. (1854) p. 3.
Calao papuensis, Rosenb. Natuurk. Tijdsch. Nederl. Ind. (1863) p. 229. sp. 57; id. Journ. fur Ornith. (1864) p. 117.
sp. 57.
Buceros (Rhyticeros) ruficollis, Gray, Hand-1. B. (1870) pt. ii. p. 129.
Rhytidoceros ruficollis, Salvad. Ann. Mus. Civ. de Stor. Nat. Genova, (1876-77) vol. ix. p. 19.
Rhytidoceros plicatus, Salv. Ann. Mus. Civ. St. Nat. Genova. (1877) vol. x.
Rhytidoceros plicatus var. ruficollis, Salv. Ann. Mus. Civ. St. Nat. Genova. (1877) vol. x.
Massouahou-Boroin Guabe (Quoy & Gaim.) ; Wama in Lobo (S. Muller) ; Oedooi in Andai (Von Rosenb.).
Hab. Solomon Islands (Bennett) ; New Guinea (Beccari) ; Waigiou, Mysol (Wallace) ; Halmahera, Morty,
Batchian, Ceram (Schlegel) ; Amboina (Temm.); Salwatti (Bruijn) ; Ravak, Grebeh, Batanta (Beccari).
The first Latin name given to this species is in the " Faunula Indica " of Forster's ' Indische
Zoologie,' where the appellation of plicatus is conferred upon the Hornhill the head of which is
represented in Dampier's plate, published in the third volume of his ' Voyages/ page 23L This
bird was said to have come from Ceram ; and, from the fact that the bill had no lateral ridges upon
either maxilla or mandible, it is without doubt the present species, called afterwards ruficollis by
Vieillot, and generally known to ornithologists by the latter name. The other prominent synonyms
of the species are obscurus, Gmelin, and Wreathed Hornbill or Buceros plicatus, Latham.
The " Wreathed Hornbill " of Latham (I. c.) was founded upon a drawing of a bill given in
Ray's translation of Willughby's ' Ornithology,' and which, having no lateral grooves, must have
belonged to the present species. To this Gmelin gave the name of obscurus (I. c); and two years
afterwards Latham also gave to his Wreathed Hornbill a Latin title, and called it in his e Index
S!
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■ '■■
Ornithologicus ' (I.e.) Buceros plicatus. Both of these Latin names, however, must become
synonyms of plicatus given in Forster's work above mentioned.
This bird is a native of several of the islands of the Eastern archipelago, Ceram being appa-
rently its western limit ; but it goes the furthest eastward of all the members of the family, having
been obtained by Mr. Bennett in the Solomon Islands. Of its habits and economy we know very
little, the few remarks given below, published by Mr. Wallace in the ( Intellectual Observer,' being
all that I have met with upon this subject.
Wallace states that " on one occasion he shot a Moluccan Hornbill (Buceros ruficollis), to the
roof of whose beak was sticking a large lump of bees' comb, showing that he had been making a
meal off bees' brood and honey. They are also positively declared by the natives to eat eggs and
young birds occasionally. Yet, notwithstanding this varied bill of fare, there seems little doubt
but that periodical scarcity of food is the most efficient check to their increase, as shown by the fact
that the larger kinds are always scarce, even where the smaller ones abound."
Dr. Beccari says that individuals of this species obtained in New Guinea have the neck of a
much lighter colour than those from the islands of Ceram and Amboina ; and D'Albertis records
in his report on the ornithology of the Ply Biver that it was common all over the country. He
saw some bills in the natives' huts that were much smaller than the usual style, which made him
suspect that there was a second species ; but he could not procure the bird itself.
Bill long and curved, yellowish white, red at the base. At the base of the culmen, instead of
a casque is a moderate elevation divided into several deep prominent ridges of the same colour as
the bill, and also red at the base. Bare skin of throat and round the eyes pale blue. Head, neck,
and upper part of breast reddish orange. Entire rest of body and wings black with a greenish
tinge. Tail pure white. Iris salmon-colour. In old birds the cutting edges of the bill are
frequently much broken towards the point. Eeet black.
Total length 29 inches, wing 17, tail 11 ; bill along gape 7, height at base 3 ; tarsus 2.
The female has the body jet-black, with the bare skin blue ; iris chestnut ; tail white ; feet
black.
The specimen from which my figure and description were taken is in my own collection.
mmwwm wmmmmw nn
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RflYTIDOCERDS NARCONDAMI
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RHYTIDOCEROS NARCONDAMI
NARCONDAM ISLAND WIEATHED HOBNBILL.
Rhyticeros narcondami, Hume, Str. Feath. vol. i. (1873) p. 411, vol. ii. (1874) pp. 108, 110.
Hab. Island of Narcondam, Bay of Bengal.
This species was described by Mr. Hume (I. c.) from specimens procured in bis expedition to
the islands in the Bay of Bengal. The colour of its plumage is precisely like that of R. plicatus,
Forst. ; but in all its dimensions the present is a much smaller bird. Mr. Hume states (in litt.)
that " I entertain no doubt of the distinctness of this species. I can tell you nothing further
about the bird " (beyond what is recorded in ' Stray Feathers ') ; " scarcely any one else has ever
landed on the island ; all I can say is that they were in great numbers, keeping everywhere to the
tops of the trees, from the water's edge to the very summit of the island, and that most certainly
nothing like them occurs anywhere in any of the Nicobars, Andamans, Cocos, Preparis, Barren
Island, Pegu, or Tenasserim, nor, as far as we yet know, in the Mergui archipelago, where
R. widulatus is very common ; but we have not yet explored this archipelago so as to be able
to assert that narcondami occurs nowhere on any of the other odd thousand islands.
" I have no specimen of ruficollis (plicatus, Forst.) ; but with both undulatus and subrufi-
collis before me certain differences immediately strike the eye. In the first place narcondami is
not one third the bulk of subruficollis : an ordinary male of the latter weighs 3*75 lb. ; our male
narcondami, an adult, weighed 1 lb. 3 oz. There is much less bare gular skin ; and this ends
square across the throat, and not in a curve as in the two species above named. The head and
neck in the male are a bright chestnut, the upper part of the throat only being bufly, changing
to chestnut. The bill is straighter and not so much curved as in undulatus even, and a fortiori
not so much as in subruficollis. The casque projects proportionally more on either side of the
mandible than in either of those two species. The metallic reflections of the black of the mantle
are pure green ; in both the other species there is a decided blue tinge in some lights, though not
m others, whereas narcondami in any light that does not show it pure green is a bronze-green."
Narcondam Island, the abode of this species, is almost inaccessible; for, according to Mr. Hume,
not only no vessels ever visit it, but for at least 340 days out of the year it is impossible to land
on account of the heavy surf that breaks around its shores. For this reason it is most probable
that R. narcondami will always be a great rarity in collections. Two specimens, I believe, were
all that were obtained ; and these are now in Mr. Hume's magnificent museum.
In both sexes the irides are pale red, legs and feet brown ; bill pale horny yellow, brownish
red at base of both mandibles ; posterior plate of casque reddish brown, margin horny yellow,
M
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i
succeeding ridges horny yellow, furrows blackish brown ; bare orbital skin pale smalt-blue ; gular
skin white, tinged with greenish blue.
" In the female the entire plumage (except the tail, which is pure white) is jet-black, glossed
on the wings and back with dull metallic green ; the male differs in having the front of the neck
below the bare gular patch a somewhat pale rufous buff, while the whole of the rest of the head
and neck are bright chestnut-coloured " {Hume, loc. cit.).
The following are the measurements as given by Mr. Hume : —
"Male. — Length 26 inches, expanse 41*5 ; tail from vent 8'25 ; wing 12 ; wings when closed
reach to within 4*5 of end of tail ; tarsus 2*05 ; middle toe to root of claw 2*5 ; claw only, straight
from point to base, 07 ; bill from nostril to point 4'5, bill from posterior margin of casque to
point, straight, 5*0; length of casque only, 2*67; greatest height of upper mandible including
casque 1*4, of casque only 0*6. Weight 1 lb. 3 oz.
"Female.— Length 24 inches, expanse 37*75 ; tail from vent 8*0; wing 10'75 ; tarsus 1*8 ;
middle toe to root of claw 1*4 ; claw only, straight from point to base, 0*55 ; bill from nostril to
point 3*6; bill from posterior margin of casque only, 2'6; greatest height of upper mandible
including casque 1*25, of casque only 0'6. Weight 1 lb."
s
J. tr.Keul emans litli.
ANORRHINUS COMATUS.
ANORRHINUS COMATUS.
LONG-CRESTED HORNBILL.
Buceros comatus, Raffles, Trans. Linn. Soc. vol. xiii. p. 339 ; Temm. Plan. Col. (1830) vol. ii. (text) ; G. R. Gray,
Gen. Birds (1849) vol. ii. p. 399. sp. 16 ; Blyth, Journ. Asiat. Soc. Beng. (1847) p. 996, pi. xliv. fig. 2, and
Cat. B. Mus. Asiat. Soc. (1849) p. 44. sp. 186 ; Schleg. Mus. Pays-B. (1862) p. 8 ; Giebel, Thesanr. Ornith.
(1872) p. 497; Mull. & Schleg. Verh. Geschied. Neder. Ind. (1839-1844) pp. 23, 29, sp. vii. ; Hay, Madr.
Journ. vol. xiii. p. 149.
Buceros lugubris, Begbie, Malay. Penin. (1834) p. 513; id. Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. (1846) p. 405.
Berenicornis comatus, Bon. Consp. Gen. Av. (1850) p. 91. sp. 1 ; Horsf. & Moore, Cat. B. E.-Ind. Co. (1856-58)
vol. ii. p. 594. sp. 875; Moore, Proc. Zool. Soc. (1859) p. 450; Bon. Consp. Vol. Anisod. (1854) p. 2.
Buceros (Berenicornis) comatus, G. R. Gray, Hand-1. Birds (1870) pt. ii. p. 128. sp. 7882.
Hab. Malayan peninsula, Sumatra (Blyth).
This very distinct species was first described by Raffles in the £ Linnean Transactions ' for
1822, from a young male, which differs from the adult in the brown colour of its back, wings,
and tail, and dusky hue of bill and casque. It is a very peculiar-looking bird, and is the type of
Bonaparte's genus Berenicornis. As I do not consider this species to be generically distinct from
A. galeritus, which is the type of Reichenbach's genus Anorrhinus, I have placed Bonaparte's
term among the synonyms. This genus includes six species, according to my views, two of which
are natives of Africa, and four of the Oriental region. But a single other name besides the one it
bears has been given to this Hornbill, viz. B. lugubris of Begbie ; and therefore its synonymy is
happily freed from all complication. The last-named author says : — " This bird is melancholy
in its disposition, but withal voracious in its habits. I had one in confinement for some time,
feeding it principally on plantains, which it devoured greedily, and never attempted to escape
from its perch. I destroyed it on account of the filth and, stench it generated." This short
account is all that I have met with regarding the habits of this species — not sufficiently attractive
to make further investigation desirable. This species is confined to the Malayan peninsula and
the island of Sumatra.
Male.— A. low casque, being more like the elevation of the culmen, commences on the
maxilla, about one third of its length from the point, extends backwards to the base, and
disappears in the loose feathers of the crest. Head, neck, crest, breast, abdomen, tail, end of
primaries and secondaries pure white. Wings, back, and thighs black. Length of bill 6 inches,
height 21 ; length of crest on bill 4 J ; wing 15f ; tail 20 ; tarsus 2 J.
Female.— Crest, end of secondaries and primaries, and the tail pure white ; all the rest black.
Length of bill 5f inches ; wing 15J ; tail 19^ ; tarsus 2.
':
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ANQRRHJNUS ALB' OCRI STATUS
M&N.HanhaL-t imp
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ANORRHINUS ALBOCRISTATUS
WHITE-CEESTED HOENBILL.
Buceros albocristatus, Cassin, Journ. Acad. Nat, Scien. Phil. (1850) vol. L p. 135, pi. 15 ; Hartl. Ornith. "West-Afr.
(1857) p. 163 ; Cassin, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phil. (1859) p. 139. sp. 162; Schleg. Mus. Pays-B. (1862) p. 9;
id. Handl. d. Dierk. Vog. pi. 3. fig. 39; Giebel, Tliesaur. Ornith. (1872) p. 495; Reich. Jour, fur Ornith. (1875)
p. 12.
Buceros macrourus, Temm. Mus. Lugd.
Berenicornis macrourus, Bon. Consp. Gen. Av. (1850) p. 91. sp. 2; id. Consp. Vol. Anisod. (1854) p. 2.
Berenicornis albocristata, Hartl. Journ. fur Ornith. (1854) p. 127. sp. 391 ; Heine, Journ. fur Ornith. (1860) p. 188.
sp. 148; Sharpe, Ibis (1869) p. 385.
Buceros {Berenicornis) albo-cristatus, G. R. Gray, Hand-1. Birds (1870) pt. ii. p. 128. sp. 7883.
Hab. Sierra Leone, St. Paul's River (Cassin) ; Rio Boutry, Ashantee (Pel) ; Gaboon (Du Chaillu).
Cassin, in the Journal of the Philadelphia Academy (I. c), states : — " The specimen above
described I received several years since from Robert Mac Dowell, M.D., Surgeon, attached to the
Colonial Government of Sierra Leone, an enthusiastic naturalist, who obtained it on the banks of
the St. Paul river. This species resembles no other that I have seen, or of which I can find a
description, and may at once be recognized by its white erect crest and long tail." Bonaparte,
in his * Conspectus Generum Avium,' includes this species under the name of macrourus. This is
attributed by Schlegel and others to Temminck. I cannot ascertain that such a name was ever
published, but was probably merely a manuscript one attached to some specimen in the Ley den
Museum. This of course cannot be noticed ; and Mr. Cassin's name therefore has priority, and is
the one that has been generally adopted. The present species is still rare in collections, although
doubtless not uncommon in its native haunts. Its long white crest renders it very conspicuous
among the Bucerotidse, and makes it one of the most attractive species of the family. It ranges
from Sierra Leone to the Gaboon, though perhaps it is not found in Pantee.
Bill black, a triangular yellow spot at base of maxilla. A small thin casque, with a prominent
ridge on the side extends along the culmen for nearly its entire length, its anterior end being
upright. Head covered by a long loose full crest, white ; the feathers on top of head having
black shafts and tips. Plumage of body black. Wings black with a green reflection ; lesser
coverts, secondaries, and primaries tipped with white. Tail dark green, tipped with white.
Total length 24 inches ; wing 8J ; tail 16.
Female like the male, but with a smaller bill and crest.
X* ^" — — -~
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ANORRHINUS LEUCOLOPHUS
ANORRHINUS LEUCOLOPHUS.
FANTEE WHITE-CRESTED HOENBUL
Berenicornis albo-cristatus, Sharpe, Proc. Zool. Soc. (1871) p. 604. sp. 7.
Berenicornis kucolophus, Sharpe, Zool. Rec. (1873) p. 54.
Hab. Fantee (Sharpe).
In his list of the Birds of Cameroons, published in the ' Proceedings' of the Zoological Society,
as above cited, Mr. Sharpe calls attention to the difference between specimens of this Hornbill
from Fantee and the Gaboon. He states :— " I must remark that all the specimens received from
Eantee differ conspicuously in being much smaller, and in having the wing scarcely tipped with
white. The bill also is very different, being much smaller in the Eantee bird. Although I have
a good series of these Hornbills, I must wait for further evidence before describing the Eantee
bird as new, as Cassin's original type came from Sierra Leone, and agrees with the Gaboon bird,
and not with that from Eantee, as one would expect." In the ' Zoological Kecord ' for 1871, he
remarks in a footnote, " I have since seen many specimens from Eantee, and find the character
constant. The bird from this locality must be separated as B. leucolophus." The Eantee birds
certainly do vary both in size and shape of bill, as well as in the colour of the plumage, as pointed
out by Mr. Sharpe ; but the great difficulty that exists against its being deemed distinct from the
albocristatus of Cassin, is its geographical distribution. The species just named extends from
Sierra Leone to the Gaboon. Of this dispersion there can hardly be any doubt, as the type speci-
men came from Sierra Leone, it was procured by Pel on the Rio Boutry in Ashantee, and by Du
Chaillu at the Gaboon. Now it appears strange that nearly in the centre of this range a closely
allied but distinct species should exist. I have never seen any of the albocristatus from Eantee ;
but that does not prove that it is not also found there with the leucolophus style. It is possible
that Mr. Sharpe's bird is simply a local race of the widely distributed albocristatus.
Bill black, with a triangular yellow spot near the base of the maxilla. A keel-shaped casque
rises above the maxilla at its base, runs for nearly its entire length, and terminates at a right angle
to the culmen. Head and occiput covered by a very long loose crest ; and these, together with the
neck, are white, with the shafts of the feathers and a spot on their tips black. Entire rest of body
black. Wings black with a green gloss. Tail cuneate (median feathers very long), black, glossed
with green and tipped with white. Eeet and tarsi black.
Total length 26 inches, wing 9, tail 17, bill 3^, tarsus If.
The specimens described and figured were in Mr. Sharpe's collection.
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ANOREHINUS GALERITUS
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ANORRHINUS GALERITUS.
BUSHY-CEESTED HOENBILL.
Jftwerew galeritus, Temm. Plan. Col. (1830) vol. ii. pi. 520 ; Mull. & Schleg. Verh. Gesch. Ned. Ind. (1839-44)
pp. 23, 28, v; Gray, Gen. Birds, vol. ii. (1847) p. 399. sp. 12; Low, Sarawak, p. 411 (1848); Blyth, Cat.
Birds Mus. Asiat. Soc. (1849) p. 44. sp. 185 ; Schleg. Mus. Pays-B. (1862) p. 8.
Buceros carinatus, Blyth, Journ. Asiat. Soc. Beng. vol. xiv. pt. i. (1845) p. 187 (juv.) .
Anorrhinus galeritus, Reich. Syst. Av. (1849) pi. 49; Horsf. & Moore, Cat. B. Mus. E.-Ind. Co. (1856-8) vol. ii.
p. 594. sp. 874 ; Moore, Proc. Zool. Soc. (1859) p. 450 ; Cab. & Heine, Mus. Hein. vol. ii. (1860) p. 594.
sp. 874; Salv. Ucc. di Borneo, p. 79 (1874) ; Lord Tweedd. Ibis (1877) p. 292; Hume, Str. Feath. (1878)
pp. 109, 500.
Hydrocissa galerita, Bon. Consp. Gen. Av. (1850) p. 90. sp. 3 ; Sclat. Proc. Zool. Soc. (1863) p. 214.
Anthracoceros galeritus, Bon. Consp. Vol. Anisod. (1854) p. 2. gen. 9. sp. 22.
Buceros (Anorrhinus) galeritus, Gray, Hand-1. B. pt. ii. (1870) p. 128. sp. 7877.
Anorrhinus galeritus, Sharpe, Ibis (1879) p. 246.
Hab. Malayan peninsula (Blyth) ; Uwalabo, Malawoon, Bankasoon, Tenasserim (Hume) ; Sumatra
(S. Mtjller) ; Borneo (Schlegel, Diard) ; Lawas river (Ussher) ; Monte Sakoembang, Lumbidan, Borneo
(Treacher, Lawut, S. Muller) ; Banjermassing (Motley) ; Sarawak (Doria, Beccari).
This species is Beichenbach's type of his genus Anorrhinus, distinguished by the keel-shaped
casque or crest covering the base of the culmen and sloping gradually forward to the base of the
maxilla. It is a fine species, and cannot be separated generically from A, comatus, which Bona-
parte placed in his genus Berenicomis. It was described by Temminck, and a fair figure given in
bis 'Planches Coloriees.' The synonymy presents no difficulties, the species never having received
a second appellation.
I am indebted to Messrs. Hume and Davison for the following account of this bird, which is
especially welcome from the fact that but very little has been recorded of its habits by any of
those ornithologists who have met with it in its native haunts : —
These naturalists state : — " Though this species was not uncommon in the forests around
Malawoon and Bankasoon, yet it was so very wary and difficult of approach, that only one specimen
(a male) was shot by ourselves. We saw them almost daily, always in small parties of five or six,
keeping to the densest portions of the forest and the tops of the highest trees. They never fly
together, but always one after the other in a string or line. When about to start, they set up a
sort of gabbling chorus; and after a few seconds, perhaps half a minute, of vociferous altercation,
one flies away, followed immediately by another and another, till all have left.
"Their note is very similar to that of E. albirostris (malabarica); and, like these, they con-
tinually utter it at short intervals so long as they remain perched.
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" Their flight is almost noiseless, with none of the metallic clang so conspicuous in that of
B. undulatus and subruficollis ; nor has it the swish of H. cavatus, Shaw, or B. rhinoceros. In
fact, it is just like that of M. affinis, malabaricus, or B. scutatus (Vigil) — a few rapid strokes of
the wing, a short sail with outspread wings, again a few rapid strokes, again a sail, and so on.
Although the flight of all these is comparatively noiseless, you still can, when sufficiently close,
detect the sound of their wing, unlike B. comatus, whose flight is utterly noiseless, almost
owl-like.
" They are strictly arboreal in their hahits, never descending to the ground as does B. comatus
and the small hlack-hilled S. nigrirostris, Blyth, of the Malayan peninsula, which is generally
considered the female of the much larger and white-billed H. malayana, but which we never met
with in company with any white-billed specimens.
"This species is, we believe, strictly frugivorous; the only specimen whose stomach we
dissected contained only fruit. Of course many Hornbills, like B. comatus for instance, are quite
omnivorous ; we have taken both lizards and birds out of the stomach of these ; but we are inclined
to think that it is chiefly the species that habitually descend to the ground that feed in this fashion,
and galeritus most certainly does not so descend, as, although able to procure but few specimens,
we saw the bird constantly, not only in Southern Tenasserim, but also at Kuroo, Nealys, Johore,
and other places in the south of the Malayan peninsula.
" The following were the dimensions and colours of the soft parts recorded from a fine fresh
specimen of an adult male : —
" Length 33*0, expanse 46'74, tail from vent 13*0, wing 14*25, tarsus 2*0 ; bill from gape 5*75,
from posterior margin of casque aiong ridge and culmen to tip 6'75 ; of casque only, 4*0 ; height of
upper mandible and casque at centre of casque 1'46, of upper mandible at the same place 0*79 ;
weight 2-5 lb.
" The legs, feet, and claws were black ; the irides lake-red ; the bill entirely black. Gular
and orbital skin pale blue, darkest just in front of the eye, at the angle of the gonys and junction
with the feathers of the throat. Eyelids mottled black and white."
Male. — Bill black. At a point about the centre of the maxilla a casque slopes gradually
upwards from the culmen and inclines backward to the head. This is highest at its anterior end,
and is black throughout. Bare skin around the eyes, and also on the cheeks and throat, pale blue.
Head covered with a long loose crest, which, together with the neck and mantle, is dark green,
the feathers very light along their edges. Wings have the secondaries bronzy green, edges whitish.
Rest of body light brown, the edges of many feathers buff. Tail is bluish white for two thirds of
its length from the base, rest dark green. Iris lake-red. Eyelids mottled with black and white.
Eeet greenish grey.
Length 35 inches, wing 14, tail 13, tarsus 2, bill 5 -J, casque 3 J ; height of bill and casque 2-J.
Female. — Precisely like the male, with the exception of the casque and bill, which are shorter
and smaller, and the bare skin on throat, which is yellow.
"Wing 12J inches, tail llf , tarsus 1-J, bill 4J.
Specimens described and figured are contained in the collection of the British Museum.
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ANORRHINUS TICKELL
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ANORRHINUS TICKELLI.
TICKELL'S HOKNBILL,
Buceros tickelli, Blyth, Journ. Asiat. Soc. Beng. vol. xxiv. pp. 266, 285, vol. xxviii. p. 412; Jerd. Ibis, (1872) p. 5.
Toccus tickelli, Tickell, Ibis, (1864) p. 173, pi. iii.
Meniceros tickellice, Hume, Str. Feath. vol. ii. (1874) p. 470.
Anorrhinus tickelli, Blyth, Cat. Mamm. & Birds Burma, (1875) p. 69. sp. 70.
Cranorrhinus corrugatus, Blyth, Cat. Mamm. & Birds Burma, Journ. Asiat. Soc. Beng. vol. xliii. p. 69 (1875), juv.
Anorrhinus tickelli, Godw.-Aust. Ibis, (1878) p. 206.
Ocyceros tickelli, Davids. Str. Feath. vol. vi. (1878) p. 103; Hume, Str. Feath. vol. vii. (1879) p. 499.
Ocyceros tickelli^, Bingham, Str. Feath. vol. viii. (1879) p. 194.
Hab. Tenasserim Hills (Tickell) ; Mountains of Amherst Province, Burma, up to 400 feet of elevation
(Blyth) ; Khasi Hills (Godwin- Austen) ; Thoungyah Hills, Kan Karyit (Darling).
The A. tickelli was first described by the late Mr. Blyth from an immature specimen obtained
by Tickell in the Tenasserim Hills. Blyth placed it in the genus Buceros, while Tickell and
Jerdon deemed it a Toccus. Its proper generic position, however, is with Anorrhinus, and it is
a closely allied form to A. galeritus.
Tickell found this species from about the base of the Tenasserim Hills up to a height of 4000
feet. The birds were most abundant on the Siamese side of the range, appearing in pairs or small
flocks of five or six individuals. Their voice was loud and plaintive, resembling " whey-whey,
whey-whey" and whilst feeding they continually kept up a low cackle like parrots. The flight
was performed by regular flappings of the wings, like R. subruficollis, and not with alternate
flappings and sailings, like some other species of this family, and they generally flew at high
elevations. The specimen figured in ' The Ibis ' (I. c.) was procured at Thengangyee sakan, a place on
the wild path used by travellers going from the Shan States of Yahan, in Siam, to Moulmein. The
food of this species is fruits. Some years afterwards Col. Tickell met this Hornbill a second time
in the flat forest lying along the south side of the Houngthrau river, to the south of Thengangyee
sakan, and on a considerably lower level. They were very wild and could not be approached ; but
on his last day's march through the forest he met with three individuals near a Karen clearing,
two of which one of his followers succeeded in securing. They both proved to be males, not
differing, however, in plumage from the specimen he first obtained, which was a female.
No other examples of this species were obtained, since Tickell met with it, until last year,
when Mr. Hume, knowing my great desire to present illustrations of the adult in this work,
most generously deputed his assistant curator, Mr. G. Darling, to visit the only place known to him
which they frequented ; and after much trouble he succeeded in securing a series of both sexes.
ry*T*
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An account of this expedition is given in 'Stray Feathers' (I. c), and the following is a summary: —
Six males and six females were procured, the birds having been first met with on the Thoungyah
Hills, some fifteen miles from Kan Karyit on the way to the Yahine Territory, via Meawuddee .
They were very shy and difficult of approach, always in heavy forest, and it was wonderful how
quickly they discovered a man who endeavoured to get near to them. When feeding they keep
up an incessant cackling ; but when frightened, a shrill scream is given and then they fly away one
after another in an extended line ; they do not fly far, and recommence their cackling when they
alight. When feeding they come to within thirty or forty feet of the ground, but if disturbed fly to
the tops of the highest trees. They are constantly flying and sailing about, never remaining more
than a minute in one spot ; and their chief food seemed to be berries, although the remains of some
kind of fly were discovered in their stomachs. At a latter period Captain Bingham records, in
6 Stray Feathers' (L c), that he found this species not uncommon in the Kyoon Choung Reserve,
high up on the Zainee River, again between Meawuddee and Kan Karyit ; and in July 1879 he saw
a flock between Yunbine on the Salaween River and Koosaik on the Thoungyeen. Everywhere
they kept to the tops of the very highest trees, completely out of the range of an ordinary gun.
Male. — Darling states that the adult male has the bill yellowish white, slightly browner on
the casque, with a patch of saffron or orange-yellow at the base, and usually a small dusky patch
at the tip of the mandible, this last at times running as a narrow band backwards along the
commissure. Head bistre-brown, with the shafts of feathers paler. Upper parts umber-brown
tinged with olive, and in certain lights exhibiting a greenish gloss. Secondaries and primaries
greenish black, the latter with their outer margins for a short space in the centre as well as their
tips whitish. Some of the greater wing-coverts are also tipped with white, which is not the
case with the female. Occasionally the white tippings of the quills extend to the tertiaries.
Chin, throat, sides of neck, entire lower surface of body, thighs, and lower tail-coverts bright
ferruginous rufous. Two median rectrices like the back, with pale tips ; remainder greenish
black, tips pale. Irides bright brown. Legs and feet brownish black, claws horny black. Orbital
skin and bare spot at base of mandible bluish white or blue, not unfrequently pink.
Length 30 inches, wing 13, tail 12J, tarsus If, bill from gape 4§.
Female.-— Bill brownish black. Upper parts and tail resemble the male ; but the chin, throat,
sides of neck, entire lower surface of body, thighs, and lower tail-coverts are grey earthen brown,
partially tinged with dull ferruginous rufous. Irides and soft parts coloured as in the male ; but
Darling records that one female had black irides. Legs and feet brownish black. Primaries
black, with a white patch on outer webs ; secondaries dark green.
Length 28 inches, wing 12, tail 11J, tarsus 2, bill from gape 4J.
A young male shot by Captain Bingham had the bill whitish tinged with greenish yellow ;
bare skin on chin and above and behind the eyes purplish pink, rest of bare facial skin fleshy white.
Irides with an inner and an outer circle of grey. Legs and feet greenish plumbeous, claws
horny. The plumage resembles that of the female, except the entire lower surface, which is a
ruddy buff, palest on the throat; the feathers of the throat, and many of those on the breast and
abdomen, with white centres. Forehead, crown, and occipital crest dark ferruginous brown, the
feathers, especially the crests, strongly tinged with grey, as are also those of the thighs. Greater
wing-coverts, outer margins of primaries, and some of the secondaries margined with whitish buff.
Tail-feathers and primaries tipped with white.
The specimens figured were obtained by Mr. Darling, and most kindly presented to me by
Mr. Hume, to whom I owe my sincere thanks for the efforts made to procure them.
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ANORRHINUS AUSTENI.
GODWIN-AUSTEN'S HOENBILL.
(NOT FIGURED, NO SPECIMEN OBTAINABLE.)
Anorrhinus galeritus, Godw.-Aust. (nee Temm.) Journ. Asiat. Soc. Beng. (1870) p. 96, vol. xxxix., juv. ?
Anorrhinus austeni, Jerd. Ibis (1872) p. 6, juv. ; Hume, Str. Feath. vol. v. p. 117 (1877) vol. vii. pp. 167, 499 (1878).
Anorrhinus tiekelli, Godw.-Aust. Ibis (1878) p. 208, juv.
Hab. North Cacbar bills (Godwin-Austen) .
A presumably young bird of some species of Hornbill was procured by Colonel Godwin-
Austen in the North Cachar hills, and was referred by him to A. galeritus, Temm. Jerdon later
described the specimen as belonging to an undescribed species, and named it austeni, after its
discoverer. Blyth, in his ' Mammals and Birds of Burmah,' considered the bird to be the same
as Cr 'anorrhinus corrugatus, having examined a head which he supposed belonged to Godwin-
Austen's specimen. In this, however, he was mistaken, as Lord Tweeddale states (Ibis, 1878,
p. 208) that this head had no reference to Godwin- Austen's bird. The latter gentleman, in the
communication to e The Ibis ' to which Lord Tweeddale' s remarks given above were attached,
believes that his example is the young of A. tiekelli, Blyth. Mr. Hume contends, however, that
this conclusion is erroneous ; and I am inclined to agree with him, and believe that Godwin-
Austen's bird most probably represents a distinct species. Fortunately, Mr. Hume has been
able to procure a very fine series of A. tiekelli of both sexes ; and none of them possess the
peculiar coloration of plumage described by Godwin-Austen in his bird. In no specimen of
A. tiekelli) as stated by Mr. Hume, are the throat and sides of the neck white, nor does either sex
have the base of the primaries white, or the primaries themselves barred with white, as is the
case with A. austeni. The bill being yellowish white would seem to prove that the specimen of
A. austeni was a male, as the females of this genus have a blackish-brown bill. In size A. austeni
and A. tiekelli are about the same. I have not been able to see this example of A. austeni, which
was deposited by Godwin- Austen in the British Museum ; and the ticket having been changed
upon it, identification of the specimen seems to be impossible. Under these circumstances,
and judging from the description, I consider that A. austeni cannot be referred to A. tiekelli,
and therefore leave it as a distinct species until the future acquisition of examples may define
beyond question its proper position.
The following is Colonel Godwin- Austen's description of his specimen :—
"The whole of the upper part pale slaty grey, having in certain lights a greenish tinge;
throat and sides of neck white, dull rufous on the breast and belly, thighs, and under tail-coverts.
Primaries greenish black, tipped and barred with white ; a white spot formed by the tips of
the outer wing-coverts, the bases of the primaries being also of this colour; secondaries edged
whitish; tail tipped white; centre feathers same colour as the back. Bill yellowish white.
Length about 31 inches, wing 13, tail 13, bill to gape 4J, depth 2."
.
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J G Ke.ulemans litli.
Hanhart imp.
ACEROS NEPALENSIS
.
ACEROS NEPALENSIS
KUFOUS-NECKED HOEOILL
Buceros nepalensis, Hodgs. Calc. Glean. Sc. (1829) vol. i. p. 249; id. Proc. Zool. Soc. (1832) p. 15; id. Asiat.
Research. (1833) p. 178, pis. 1, 2; Blyth, Journ. Asiat. Soc. Beng. (1843) vol. xii. pt. ii. p. 989, (1847)
p. 997. pi. 44. fig. 1 ; G. R. Gray, Gen. Birds, (1849) vol. ii. p. 400. sp. 24; Blyth, Cat. Birds Mus. Asiat.
Soc. (1849) p. 45. sp. 189; Schleg. Mus. Pays-B. (1862) p. 10; Giebel, Thes. Ornith. (1872) p. 501.
Aceros nepalensis, Hodgs. Gray's Zool. Misc. (1844) p. 85; Bon. Consp. Vol. Anisod. (1854) p. 3; Horsf. & Moore,
Cat. Birds Mus. E.-Ind. Co. (1856-8) vol. ii. p. 601. sp. 884; Jerd.B.Ind. (1862) vol. i. p. 250; Blyth, Ibis
(1866) p. 350; Jerd. Ibis (1872) p. 5 ; Blyth, Cat. Mamm. & B. Burma (1875), p. 69. sp. 73 ; Gammie, Str.
Feath. (1875) p. 210.
Calao nepalensis, Bon. Consp. Gen. Av. (1850) p. 90. sp. 5.
Buceros {Aceros) nepalensis, Tickell, Ibis (1864) p. 182; Gray, Hand-1. B. (1870) pt. ii. p. 129. sp. 7888.
Khulut of the Lepchas, Gog-biah of the Bhotees of Darjeeling (Jerdon) .
Hab. S.E. Himalayas, hill-ranges of Assam and Munipur, Kachar, Tenasserim Provinces (Blyth).
>
This handsome bird, one of the finest of the family, has been made the type of the genus
Aceros by Mr. Hodgson. Although belonging to the group of large Hornbills, it differs con-
spicuously from them in being destitute of a casque, that remarkable addition to the bills of its
relatives ; instead of this the culmen is swollen at the base, and slightly elevated. There is not,
fortunately, any confusion existing in the synonymy of this species, the bird being too striking
in its appearance to leave much room for errors in its identification to occur.
The range of this fine bird appears to be along the South-eastern Himalayas to the mountains
of Tenasserim. Tickell shot one on the spur leading to Mooleyit Peak, at a height of 3500 feet,
which is the only specimen obtained in British Burma that I have seen recorded. It did not
differ from the Nepaulese specimens. The flight of this species is performed by irregular beats of
the wings, with retracted neck and lowered tail. The voice of the adult is a hoarse croak ; but
when the bird is excited, it resembles a dog's bark, and is very noisy. The young utter a sound
like the clucking of a brood-hen, according to Hodgson, falling occasionally into the shriller notes
of the guinea-fowl. The species feeds chiefly on fruits, but will not refuse reptiles if hungry.
When tame it will eat meat, both raw and cooked, and also boiled rice. Every thing it takes it
swallows whole. Its flesh is eaten by the mountaineers, and much esteemed by them. It nests
in a hole in a tree, excavating it, says Hodgson, out of the solid wood, and closing the aperture by
an ingeniously contrived door I so that it is with difficulty discovered. It is said to go in pairs,
and not to be gregarious, although Jerdon speaks of observing it in small flocks. He says that
this species is easily alarmed, and that the people of Cachar and Munnipore take advantage of this
> ;.
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trait by shouting, beating drums, and firing matchlocks whenever they see these birds flying over
their villages. They immediately become bewildered, and descend to the nearest tree for shelter,
sometimes even to the ground, and are killed by arrows, occasionally by sticks. Mr. Hodgson's
statement that this species closes its abode in a tree by a curiously contrived door I have not seen
corroborated by any other naturalist. In e Stray Feathers ' for 1875, p. 210, Mr. Gammie
describes a nest and egg of this species at Poomong, in Sikhim. The tree was a species of
Dysoxylon, about 80 feet high; and under the lowest branch there was a slit, which was the
entrance to the bird's house. On each side of the slit was a quantity of plaster, which had
evidently been placed there by the female, and which did not meet in any part. At the top of the
slit was a round hole ; and from this to the bottom the opening was about two inches broad. The
entrance, after the plaster was removed, was seventeen inches in length, by four and a half in
breadth, and the hollow of the tree seventeen inches in diameter. In the hole were merely a few
of the bird's feathers. The egg was an oval, compressed at one end, and slightly pyriform. The
shell was strong and thick, coarse, without gloss, and pitted with minute pores. In colour it was
dirty white, with a yellowish tinge, and everywhere obscurely stippled with minute purer white
specks. It measured 22*5 by 1*75. The plaster, as examined by Dr. D. Cunningham under the
microscope, was entirely composed of vegetable tissue, cells, fibres, oil-globules, &c, and contained
no clay or mineral matter of any kind. The vegetable tissue appeared semidigested, many cells
being wholly or partially emptied of their contents, and free granules and globules of a bright
yellow oily-looking matter abounding. The most abundant and characteristic forms of cells
present were : — 1st, small, totally empty, thick- walled cells, scattered or still holding together in
small patches ; 2nd, large rounded cells, full of the yellow oily matter so abundant in the free
state, and of a deep brown colour. Their contents were rather of a gummy than oily nature, as
boiling with liquor potassce reduced the material to a glutinous mass, of a deep brown colour.
There were also present in small numbers fragments of feathers, spores of fungi, &c. Prom this
analysis it would seem evident, as stated by Mr. Hume, that the plaster was but the bird's own
ordure, with which she closed the opening to her nest, leaving an aperture only sufficiently wide
to receive food from the male. A heap at the foot of the tree of rejected droppings was of the
same composition as the plaster, but with fewer of the gummy globules and a larger proportion
of feathers, &c. Nothing is mentioned of a door ; and in this case, at least, it is evident the
species closed the entrance to the nest in the same manner as do the other members of this
family. The male was seen to feed the female with the fruit of the Dysoxylon tree.
The usual position assumed by this Hornbill, according to Tickell, is a kind of squat, with
ruffled neck-feathers, the neck drawn in between the high shoulders of the wings, and the tail
either erect like a Magpie's, or dropped down. At such times the bird has a very stupid
appearance. It is, however, when in the act of dressing its plumage that this handsome species
appears to most advantage. Then it rises on its feet, exposing the strong legs, the shoulders of
the wings are projected, and the neck extended and arched backwards, giving to the bird "some
of the graces and even terrors of the noble birds of prey." In disposition this Hornbill is gentle,
but not deficient in spirit ; and when captive, although it dislikes them, it views with indifference
the near approach of either man or dog. It soon becomes tame, its quiet habits enabling it to
easily endure confinement.
Male.— Bill yellow, without casque, culmen slightly elevated and swollen at base. Sides of
basal portion of maxilla ridged transversely, these grooves chestnut. Naked skin around the eye
and at base of bill light blue, that of the throat bright scarlet. Head, neck, and lower parts bright
rufous; back and wings black, glossed with green; the third to eighth primaries broadly tipped
with white. Tail white for more than half its terminal length ; remainder black.
Length 4 feet, wing 18 \ inches, tail 18, bill 9; height 3.
The female has her entire plumage black, glossed with green, excepting the ends of the pri-
maries and terminal portion of the tail, which are white.
Length 3 feet 6 inches, wing 17^, tail 17, bill 7J.
The specimens from which my description and figures were taken are contained in the British-
Museum collection.
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J.G.Keuleroans litk.
Hfl/nliart imp.
HYDRO C IS SA EXARHATUS
HYDROCISSA EXARATA.
WHITE-CHEEKED HOENBILL.
Buceros exarhatus, Temm. Plan. Col. vol. ii. pi. 211 ?; Wagl. Syst. Av. (1827) sp. 15 ; Mull, and Schleg. Verh.
Gesch. Ned. Ind. (1839-44) p. 23; Gray, Gen. Birds (1846) vol. ii. p. 400. sp. 26; Schleg. Mus. Pays-B.
(1862) p. 10; Gray, Hand-1. B. (1870) pt. ii. p. 128. sp. 7880.
Buceros exaratus, Blyth, Cat. B. Mus. Asiat. Soc. (1849) p. 44. sp. 187; Wald. Trans. Zool. Soc. (1871) vol. viii.
p. 47. sp. 57; Giebel, Thesaur. Ornith. (1872) p. 498.
Hydrocissa exarata, Bon. Consp. Gen. Av. (1850) p. 90. sp. 6.
Anorhinus exaratus, Bon. Consp. Vol. Anisod. (1854) p. 2.
Hab. Malacca, Celebes (Meyer).
Temminck first described and figured this species in the ' Planches Coloriees.' It is a native of
Malacca and Celebes. Some authors have placed this bird in the same genus with Anthracoceros
coronatus, A. malabaricus, &c. Erom such species, however, the present one is separated by the
shape of its casque. Properly speaking it has none, but the culmen is covered by a ridged crest ;
while the species above named all possess well-developed, peculiarly shaped and conspicuous casques,
having nothing in common with that exhibited by Hydrocissa exarata. As I have shown in my
article on Anthracoceros coronatus, the present species is the only one that can be selected to
represent Bonaparte's genus Hydrocissa, the other species included by him in that term having
previously been placed in distinct genera by Beichenbach. Of the habits and economy of this
species nothing has been recorded.
Male. — The bill has the maxilla rufous, the point and base yellowish white. A crest runs from
the base of maxilla to within an inch of the point, compressed laterally, its sides indented for their
entire length by three deep grooves. The anterior end slopes rapidly to the culmen. The mandible
is yellowish white, a black band starts from the base, runs upwards along the gape for about one
third its length, then becomes apparently dark red for another third part. Superciliary stripe,
cheeks, and throat white ; rest of plumage jet black ; wings and tail with a greenish gloss. Peet
and tarsi black. Bare skin on throat near base of mandible flesh-colour.
Total length 22 inches ; wing 10 ; tail 10 ; bill along gape 4 ; length of crest 2^, height of bill
and crest at base If.
Female.—- Bill like the male, but smaller, as is also the crest, which is deeply grooved, precisely
in the same manner. The anterior end slopes gradually to the culmen. Bare skin of throat,
apparently, black or bluish-black. The entire plumage is black, wings and tail glossed with green.
Total length 21 inches, wing 8, tail 8, tarsus 1 \.
Specimens described and figured are in my own collection, procured from Mr. Wallace.
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LOPHOCEROS NASUTUS
MO.Hanhart
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LOPHOCEROS NASUTUS.
BLACK-BILLED HOENBILL.
Buceros nasutus, Linn. Syst. Nat. vol. i. (1766) p. 154; Gmel. Syst. Nat. (1788) vol. i. p. 361 ; Lath. Ind. Ornith.
(1790) vol. i. p. 145 ; Shaw, Gen. Zool. (1811) vol. viii. p. 30; Vieill. Nouv. Diet. Hist. Nat. (1816) vol. iv.
p. 600; Temm. Plan. Col. (1824) vol. ii. sp. 18 (text) ; Ersch n. Grub. Ency. (1824) p. 286; Wagl. Syst. Av.
(1827) sp. 19 ; Less. Trait. Ornith. (1831) p. 252. sp. 2 ; G. E. Gray, Gen. Birds (1849) vol. ii. p. 400. sp. 32 ;
Hartl. Ornith. West-Afr. (1857) p. 164 ; Schleg. Mus. Pays-Bas (1862) p. 13; Layard, B. S. Afr. (1867) p.
227; Finsch & Hartl. Beis. Ost-Afr. (1867) p. 486; Nitzs. Pteryl. Bay Soc. (1867) p. 102; Finsch, Trans.
Zool. Soc. (1869) vol. vii. p. 277; Ayres, Ibis (1871) p. 260; Giebel, Thes. Ornith. (1872) p. 501.
Black-billed Hornbill, Lath. Gen. Syn. (1781) vol. i. p. 354. sp. 10.
Calao a bee noir du Senegal, Buff. Planch. Enlum. (1783) no. 890.
Le calao nasique, Le Vaill. Hist. Nat. Ois. d'Afriq. (1806) vol. v. p. 120, pi. 236.
Buceros nasutus, var. coffer, Dumont, Diet. Sci. Nat. (1817) vol. vi. p. 213 ; Sunclev. (Efvers. Vet. Akad. Forhdlg.
(1850) p. 108.
Buceros (Lophoceros) forskalii, Hemp. & Ehrenb. Symb. Phys., Av. (1828) fol. z, $ .
Buceros hemileucus, Hemp. & Ehrenb. Symb. Phys., Av. (1828) fol. aa, $ ; Dresser & Blanf. Ibis (1874) p. 338.
Buceros hastatus, Cuv. Begn. Anim. (1829) vol. i. p. 446 (note).
Buceros pcecilorhynchus, La Fres. Bev. Zool. (1839) p. 237, juv.; Hartl. Ornith. West-Afr. (1857) p. 164; Schleg.
Mus. Pays-B. (1862) p. 14; Layard, B. S. Afr. (1867) p. 226.
Tockus nasutus, Biipp. Syst. Uebers. Vog. N.O.-Afr. (1845) p. 79. sp. 321 ; Bon. Consp. Gen. Av. (1850) p. 91.
sp. 8; Hartl. Journ. fur Ornith. (1854) p. 128. sp. 39; Horsf. & Moore, Cat. B. Mus. E.-Ind. Co. (1856-8)
p. 596. sp. 878 ; Von Heugl. Journ. fur Ornith. (1864) p. 271 ; Gurney, Anderss. B. Damaraland (1872)
p. 206; Dresser & Blanf. Ibis (1874) p. 337; Layard, B. S. Afr. Sharpe ed. (1875) p. 133. sp. 123.
Tockus pcecilorhynchus, Bon. Consp. Gen. Av. (1850) p. 91. sp. 9; Hartl. Journ. fur Ornith. (1854) p. 193; Von
Heugl. Journ. fur Ornith. (1864) p. 271.
Grammicus nasutus, Bon. Consp. Vol. Anisod. (1854) p. 3.
Grammicus hastatus, Bon. Consp. Vol. Anisod. (1854) p. 3.
Lophoceros forskali, Cab. & Heine, Mus. Hein. (1860) Th. ii. p. 167.
Toccus pcecilorhynchus, Kirk, Ibis (1864) p. 327.
Toccus nasutus, Salvad. Cat. Uccelli Mar. Boss, e dei Bogos, p. 55 (418).
Buceros forskalii, Dress. & Blanf. Ibis (1874) p. 337.
Hab. Senegambia, Sennaar, Abyssinia, Limpopo Biver (Ayres) ; Damaraland (Andersson).
The L. nasutus and the L. birostris, on account of having casques continued anteriorly to a
sharp point, and projecting over the maxilla, cannot he retained in the genus Tockus, whose
members have merely the culmen slightly elevated into a crest-like ridge. I have therefore
adopted for them the term Lophoceros, proposed hy Hemprich and Ehrenberg in 1828 as a sub-
genus for the L. nasutus. The present hird has received many names ; and its synonymy has heen
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greatly confused. The authors just quoted conferred two names upon it — B.forskalii, given to a
male, and B. hemileucus, to a female. Cuvier called it hastatus, and La Eresnaye bestowed the
title of B. poecilorhyncJius, which term was adopted by Bonaparte and some others. It is a bird
of very wide distribution, as it is found in Abyssinia on the east, and is also an inhabitant of
Damaraland on the west coast. It probably extends its range pretty much over the continent.
Andersson states that it does not occur in Great Namaqualand. It goes in small flocks of
about six individuals, roosts on large trees, perching upon branches about halfway up, and
returns nightly to the same place. It rarely alights upon the highest branches. During the hot
weather it suffers apparently greatly from the heat, and seeks the shadiest part of the forest,
where it gasps as if for breath, and may be easily approached. When flying, it occasionally utters
short piercing cries.
Although almost omnivorous, the principal food of this species consists of berries, young
shoots, and insects. The irides are reddish brown. Mr. Ayres found this bird common along the
Limpopo ; and he also received it from the Megaliesberg, a range of wooded mountains about
seventy miles from Potchefstrom. Once he was greatly astonished to observe one of these birds
perched on a tall tree singing very prettily, with a voice like that of a Thrush.
Messrs. Dresser and Blanford having examined Ehrenberg's type of Buceros forshalii, state
(I. c.) that it is scarcely distinguishable from B. nasutits, but appears to be larger and has a longer-
wing. The type is said to have come from Arabia ! There were three specimens in the col-
lection ; and one from Abyssinia had the longest wing, but in all its other measurements it was
the smallest. These slight variations in size do not seem to be sufficient for a specific difference,
as they are evidently not constant in examples even from any one locality ; and I have not
hesitated to place B.forsJcalii among the synonyms of L. nasutus.
In his notes attached to Dr. Einsch's article on the birds of North-eastern Abyssinia and the
Bogos Country (Trans. Zool. Soc. vol. vii. p. 278), Mr. Jesse states that this species was found from
Ain to the Anseba, and its note was so variable that it was a source of constant trouble and
disappointment, as it led him always to expect to find some different species. He noticed it
hawking for insects in a very awkward manner ; it would also eat fruit.
The adult has the bill black, with the exception of a long triangular-shaped bright-yellow mark
from the base, reaching halfway along the sides of the maxilla. On the mandible are three or
four fine transverse lines also bright yellow. The culmen is swollen at the base, forming a
diminutive casque that extends along the bill for a little over half its length, terminating in a
projecting point. Head and throat dark grey, darkest on the throat, but graduating to a light brown
upon the breast. A very broad whitish superciliary stripe from the base of the bill to the occiput.
Back and wings dark brown, every feather broadly margined with white. Entire underparts pure
white. Tail blackish brown, all the feathers except the two central ones tipped with white.
Tarsus brownish black. Iris reddish brown. Total length, including bill, 18 inches ; wing 8 ;
tail 9; bill along gape 3|; length of casque 2J; tarsus 1. Sexes alike.
The young have the basal portion of the maxilla and transverse lines on mandible yellowish,
and the tip of the bill for about an inch red, remainder black. No casque, but the basal portion
of the culmen slightly elevated.
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LOPHOCEROS BIROSTRIS
GINGI HOBNBILL,
Calao de Gingi, Sonn. Voy. aux Ind. (1782) p. 214. pi. 120; Le Vaill. Ois. Amer. (1801) pi. 15.
Buceros birostris, Scopoli, Delic. Flor. et Faun. Insub. (1786) p. 87. sp. 31.
Gingi Hombill, Lath. Gen. Syn. (1787) p. 71.
Buceros ginginianus, Lath. Ind. Ornith. (1790) vol. i. p. 146. sp. 13; Shaw, Gen. Zool. (1811) vol. viii. p. 36; Vieill.
Nouv. Diet. Hist. Nat. (1816) vol. iv. p. 594; Dumont, Diet. Sc. Nat. (1817) vol. vi. p. 207; Vieill. Ency.
Meth. (1823) vol. i. p. 306; Temm. Plan. Col. (1824) vol. ii. sp. 13 (text) ; Ersch n. Griib/Ency. (1824)
p. 285 ; Less. Trait. Ornith. (1831) p. 253. sp. 5 ; Blyth, Jonrn. Asiat. Soc. Beng. (1843) vol. xii. pt. ii. p. 996 ;
Gray, Gen. Birds (1849) vol. ii. p. 400. sp. 27; Schleg. Mus. Pays-B. (1862) p. 11.
Buceros oxyurus, Wagl. Syst. Av. (1827) p. 14.
Buceros cinerascens, Hodg. Gray's Zool. Misc. p. 85 (1844).
Buceros birostris, Blyth, Jonrn. Asiat. Soc. Beng. (1847) vol. xvi. p. 995 ; id. Cat. B. Mns. Asiat. Soc. (1849) p. 44.
sp. 183.
To ckus ginginianus, Bon. Consp. Gen. Av. (1850) p. 91. sp. 2.
Meniceros ginginianus, Bon. Consp. Vol. Anisod. (1854) p. 3. gen. 13. sp. 34 ; Ball, Str. Eeath. p. 388 (1874) .
Tockus bicornis, Horsf. & Moore, Cat. Birds Mus. E.-Ind. Co. (1856-8) vol. ii. p. 597. sp. 881.
Penelopides ginginianus, Cab. & Heine, Mus. Hein. (1860) Th. ii. p. 169. no. 466.
Meniceros bicornis, Jerd. B. Ind. (1862) vol. i. p. 248. sp. 144; Blyth, Ibis (1866) p. 350; Home, Proc. Zool. Soc.
(1869) p.. 241 ; Marshall, Str. Feath. vol. iii. (1875) p. 331 ; Butl. Str. Feath. (1877) vol. v. p. 218.
Ocycer os ginginianus, Hume, Nests and Eggs of Indian Birds, (1873) pt. i. p. 113.
Chakotra, Hindostanee; Puttial dhanes in Bengal; Dhamuar or Lamdar in Upper Provinces ; Rundu-mukala
guwa, Tel. (i. e. Two-billed Pigeon) ; Manumukala kaka (i. e. Three-billed Crow), Tarn.; Selagitti&t Sangor (Jerdon
Hab. India generally, not Assam, never on the eastern side of the Bay of Bengal, tolerably common in the
tank country north of Ahmedabad (Butler).
This is the species generally known as Buceros ginginianus of Latham ; but it was described
previous to that author by Scopoli, who conferred the term birostris upon it, which is the one it
must bear. It is the second species of the genus Zophoceros, distinguished by the pointed casque,
and is common throughout India, but never goes to the eastern side of the Bay of Bengal. The
following short extract from Jerdon's < Birds of India' gives a very fair idea of the distribution of
the species, and its mode of life : —
" This small Hornhill is spread throughout all India in well-wooded districts, but does not
appear to extend into Assam, nor into any of the countries to the eastward. It is not found in
thick forests, and is almost unknown in the woods of Malabar, but frequents open and thick forest-
I
jungle, groves of trees, gardens, and especially the fine old avenues of banian and other trees that
abound in the extreme south of India, and are said to have been mostly planted by Hyder Ali.
It is almost always found in small parties, occasionally in pairs, living chiefly on fruit, and espe-
cially the figs of the banian, peepul, and other fig-trees, sometimes, however, feeding on large
insects. On such occasions I found that it had eaten Mantides and Locustse. It has a loud sharp
cry. In some parts of India the flesh is used medicinally to alleviate the pangs of child-birth.' '
Mr. Ball says that in Chota Nagpur this species is occasionally met with on the borders of
heavy jungle, and in open country, where mhowa trees abound. He shot it in Manbhum, Singh-
bhum, and Hazaribagh, but did not see it in Sirguja. It was apparently more abundant in the
Eajmehals, and in the Satpura hills very common. A female, procured in the Rajmehal hills on
the 14th April, had in her stomach a quantity of grasshoppers, in addition to some fruits of a
species of Ficus.
Mr. Home, in the < Proceedings of the London Zoological Society ' for 1869, gives an interest-
ing account of the breeding-habits of this species, as observed by him at Mainpuri, in the North-west
Provinces of India. He states that, on account of the neck, bill, and tail being long, and the wings
comparatively short, the flight is rather undulating, and the flapping frequent, and that when in
the air the bird often utters its harsh note. When feeding, this species is very fearless ; and it has
the habit of climbing by the bill as a parrot does. " It would also extract the oranges piece by
piece, leaving the skins hanging apparently entire upon the twigs." Upon the lawn surrounding
Mr. Home's house was a fine sissoo-tree (Dahlbergia sissoo), with a large hole in the trunk beneath
the first fork, for the possession of which Rollers and Parrots were always contending. At last
a pair of this Hornbill made up their minds to occupy it. The hole was about a foot deep ; and on
the 29th April the female went into it, and did not come out again. The next day he observed
her working hard to close up the entrance with her own ordure, plastering it right and left with
her bill, as with a trowel. The male was most assiduous in supplying her with food, bringing
generally the small peepul-fig. He would first alight near by, then fly to the hole, and, holding
on to the bark by his claws, knock with his bill, when that of the female would appear and receive
the fruit. The hole in the tree was at first about 6 inches high, and 3 to 4 wide ; but when closed
the opening at its widest part was only sufficiently large to admit the finger. It took two or three
days to reduce the opening to this size, after which the ordure was thrown out. On the 7th May
he took the female out, and obtained three eggs. She was very fat, and scarcely able to fly at
first, but succeeded in a short time. The natives say that as soon as the newly-hatched young
need food the female digs herself out.
In e Stray Peathers ' (I. c.) the Messrs. Marshall call attention to the difference in the plumage
of the sexes of this species, from examples collected and the sex ascertained by themselves. In
the female and immature birds the white tips are wanting to the first six primaries, and sometimes
to the seventh, while on all but the first two the white streaks are more developed than in the
adult male. The casque is lower, and has not the sharp-pointed horn.
In the male the head, face, and tail become blacker with age.
IV
General plumage grey, darkest on top of head, paler on breast, and becoming almost white on
abdomen and lower tail-coverts. Ear-coverts plumbeous. Back pearly grey with a pinkish tinge.
Primaries and secondaries brownish black, tipped broadly with white. Inner secondaries pearly
grey with a pinkish tinge. The first three primaries with a white line on their outer web near the
centre. Tail pale rufous, with a subterminal blackish-brown bar, and tipped with white. Bill has
the anterior third part of the culmen and tips, together with the underpart of mandible, yellowish
white, rest black. Casque low, greatly compressed ; ridge extending for two thirds the length of
the culmen, to which it returns at a very acute angle, forming a sharp point on the end of the
casque. The posterior portion does not extend over the head, and is hidden in the feathers. Iris
red-brown, feet plumbeous.
Total length 21 inches, wing 8, tail 10, bill 4^, casque 2J, tarsus If.
I desire to acknowledge my indebtedness to Lord Tweeddale for the loan of the specimens
described and figured.
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TOCKUS MELAN0LEUCU8
BLACK-AND-WHITE HOENBILL
Buceros melanoleucus, Licht. (nee Vieill.), Cat. Rer. Nat. rar. Hamb. (1793) p. 8. no. 90; Bechst. Lath. Uebers.
vol. ii. (1794) p. 362; id. Kurze Uebers. p. 170; Licht. Verz. Doublet. (1823) p. 21 ; Wagl. Syst. Av. (1827) ;
Gray, Gen. B. (1847) vol. ii. p. 400. sp. 29; Hartl. Ornith. Ost-Afr. (1857) p. 164; Schleg. Mus. Pays-B.'
(1862) p. 12.
Le Calao couronne, Le Vaill. Hist. Nat. Ois. Afriq. (1806) vol. v. p. 117, pis. 234 & 235.
Buceros coronatus, Wilkes? Ency. Lond. (1808) vol. iii. p. 480; Shaw (nee Bodd.), Gen. Zool. (1811) p. 35; Vieill.
Nonv. Diet. Hist. Nat. (1816) vol. iv. p. 593; id. Ency. Meth. (1823) vol. i. p. 401, pi. 240. fig. ^Tenim.
Plan. Col. (1824) vol. ii. sp. 16 (text) ; Ersch n. Grub. Ency. (1824) p. 285 ; Wagl. Syst. Av. (1827) sp. 17;
Less. Trait. Ornith. (1831) p. 253. sp. 4; Swains. Zool. Illust. 1st ser. vol. iii. pi. 178; id. B. W. Afr. vol. ii.
p. 257; Layard, B. of S. Afr. p. 225; id. Ibis (1869) p. 372.
Tockus melanoleucus, Bon. Consp. Gen. Av. (1850) p. 91. sp. 7; Hartl. Journ. fur Ornith. (1854) p. 128. sp. 393;
Horsf. & Moore, Cat. Birds Mus. E.-Ind. Co. (1856-8) vol. ii. p. 597. sp. 881 ; Gurney, Anderss. Birds
DamaraLand (1872) p. 208; Layard, B. of S. Afr., Sharped ed. (1875) p. 127. sp. 119; Bocage, Ornith.
Angola (1878) p. 116; Nichols. Proc. Zool. Soc. (1878) p. 358.
Rhynchoceros melanoleucus, Bon. Consp. Vol. Anisod. (1854) p. 3, gen. 16. sp. 41.
Lophoceros melanoleucus, Cab. & Heine, Mus. Hein. (1860) p. 168.
Toccus coronatus, Gurney, Ibis (1861) p. 133.
Toccus melanoleucus, Gurney, Ibis (1862) p. 157; Sclat. Proc. Zool. Soc. (1864) p. Ill ; Kirk, Ibis (1864) p. 327 ;
Bocage, Journ. Sc. Math. Lisb. (1868) vol. ii. p. 347. sp. 98; Gulliv. Proc. Zool. Soc. (1872) p. 16, (1875)
p. 490; Sclat. Eev. List Vert. Anim. (1872) p. 172. sp. 281.
Buceros pallidirostris , Hartl. & Finsch, Von der Deck. Beis. Ost-Afr. (1870) p. 871; Bocage, Journ. Sc. Math.
Lisb. (1870) vol. ii. p. 348. sp. 100 ; Gray, Hand-1. B. pt. ii. (1870) p. 130. sp. 7907.
Buceros {Lophoceros) melanoleucus, Gray, Hand-1. B. pt. ii. (1870) p. 130. sp. 7906.
Tockus pallidirostris, Bocage, Ornith. Angola (1878) p. 117.
Sunguiandondo in Angola (Bocage).
Hab. ftiver-Shire valley, east coast, in open bush and low trees (Kirk) ; Darra-Salam (Nicholson) ; west
coast, in Angola, Ovampo-land, and Damara-land (Andersson).
This is one of the species of this family whose synonymy is very much confused. It was first
described by Lichtenstein in 1793 {I. c.) as Buceros melanoleucus, and afterwards by Shaw {I. c.)
as B. coronatus, A pale variety subsequently received the name of pallidirostris from Einsch and
Hartlaub (I <?.). The majority of authors employed Shaw's name for the species, which was
confounded with coronatus of Boddaert, a name bestowed upon an entirely different bird. It
seems to be more an inhabitant of Southern Africa, never having been obtained, I believe, north
of Angola on the west coast, although it goes nearly to the equator on the east, as Layard states
that he found it very abundant at Kisiludini, flying in small flocks or families, and feeding on
berries and fruits. At the Knysna he states that it is also common. Andersson says that in
Damara Land the food of this species consists of beetles and lizards, very different fare from that
of the same species on the other side of the continent.
Male. Bill at base yellow; remainder bright red, with a narrow line of dark red along
the apical portion of the cutting edge. The maxilla is broad and swollen at the base, becoming
greatly compressed towards its anterior end, and rising into a minute casque, in old birds, that
terminates at a right angle to the culmen. Head covered by a rather full, not long, crest, dark
brown, with the feathers on sides and lower part of neck streaked with white. Cheeks, throat,
and upper part of breast lead-colour. Wings and back dark brown; feafchers of the former
margined with light brown. Underparts white. Tail brownish black, all the feathers broadly
tipped with white, except the median ones, which have but a small amount of white at their ends.
Total length without bill 16 inches, wing 9J, tail 8 ; bill along gape 3J, height at base
1 inch, tarsus 1.
The female is like the male, with a smaller bill.
My description and figures were taken from specimens in my own collection.
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TOCKUS SEMIFASCIATUS. TQCKUS FASCIATUS
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lOCKUS FA8CIATUS.
BIACK-AND-WHITE-TAIL HOENBILI.
Le Calao longibande, Le Vaill. Hist. Nat. Ois. Afr. (1806) vol. v. p. 115. pi. 233.
Buceros longibandus, Wilkes ? Ency. Lond. (1808) vol. iii. p. 480.
Bucerosfasciatus, Shaw, Gen. Zool. (1811) vol. viii. p. 36; G. R. Gray, Gen. Birds, (1816) vol. iii. p. 400. sp. 28 •
Temm. Plan. Col. (1824) vol. ii. sp. 15 ; Ersch u. Grub. Ency. (1824) p. 284; Hartl. Ornith. West-Afr. (1857)
p. 163; Gurn. Ibis, (1859) p. 153; Schleg. Mns. Pays-B. (1862) p. 12; Eyton, Osteol. Av. (1867) p. 62; G.
R.Gray, Hand-1. Birds (1870), pt. ii. p. 130. sp.7897; Giebel, Thes. Ornith. (1872) p. 498; Reichenb. Journ
f. Ornith. (1876) p. 445.
Buceros melanoleucus , Vieill. (nee Licht.) Nouv. Diet. Hist. Nat. (1816) vol. iv. p. 595 ; Wagl. Syst. Av. (1827)
sp. 16.
Tockus fasciatus, Bon. Consp. Gen. Av. (1850) p. 91. sp. 6; Hartl. Journ. f. Ornith. (1854) p. 127. sp. 392 ; Cass.
Proc. Acad. Nat. Scien. (1856) p. 319. sp. 27, (1859) p. 140. sp. 163 ; Bocage, Ornith. Angola, (1878) p. 123.
Lophoceros fasciatus, Cab. & Hein. Mus. Hein. (1850) Th. ii. p. 168. sp. 7; Heine, Journ. f. Ornith. (1860) p. 188.
Grammicus fasciatus , Bon. Consp. Vol. Anisod. (1854) p. 3.
I
Hab. Angola? (Schleg.) ; Congo, Old Calabar, and the borders of the Casamanze (Hartlaub); Cape Lopez
(Du Chaillu).
The T. fasciatus was first made known to ornithologists by Le Vaillant {I. c.) as le Calao
longibande, in his work entitled ' L'Histoire naturelle des Oiseaux d'Afrique,' and a figure pub-
lished. Unfortunately he did not confer upon the bird a Latin name ; and therefore the species
has always been known by that of B. fasciatus, bestowed upon it by Shaw in 1811. It is true, a
name was given to the species previously in the e Encyclopaedia Londinensis ;' but, as the author is
not known, it cannot be accepted. Mr. Cassin, in the ' Proceedings of the Academy of Natural
Sciences of Philadelphia ' for 1867, called the attention of naturalists to the list of birds in the work
just named, and made them generally known ; but there is no evidence to show that Mr. Wilkes,
who is claimed as the author of the ornithological portion, ever had any thing especially to do with
it, although he may have been the editor of the work ; and there is no signature attached to the
articles to indicate who the writers were. Under these circumstances, although the names be-
stowed upon several of the Hornbills in the publication are the earliest known, they cannot be
received ; for to make a name valid that of its author should go with it.
Nothing has been recorded concerning the economy and habits of the present species. It is
easily recognized from its near ally (T. semifasciatus) by the two lateral rectrices being pure white
for their entire length. It does not seem to be uncommon in the localities it frequents, and is
often sent to Europe in collections. Professor Schlegel gives the locality of a specimen in the
Leyden Museum as Angola ; but, according to Professor Bocage, if it occurs there it must be very
rare, and probably is only found in the districts north of the Quanza. M. Anchieta during his long
residence in Angola never met with the species.
Bill yellowish white, brownish at the tips of the mandibles ; a brown line also runs along the
commissure for half its length from the tip. A low crest rises at the base of the culmen and
extends two thirds its length, with grooves on either side. Head, neck, upper part of breast,
back, wings, and flanks black with a slight greenish gloss. Tail black, with the exception of the
two lateral rectrices next to the outermost ones, which are pure white. Tarsus black.
Total length 18 inches, wing 9J, tail 10, bill 3J.
Specimens described and figured are in my own collection.
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TOCKUS SEMIFASCIATUS
ALLIED HOBNBILL,
Buceros semifasciatus, Hartl. Journ. fur Omith. (1855) p. 356; id. Ornith. West-Afr. (1857) p. 163; Schleg Mus
Pays-B. (1862) p. 13; G. R. Gray, Hand-1. Birds (1870) pt. ii. p. 130. sp. 7902; Giebel, Thesaur. Ornithi
(1872) p. 503 ; Reichen. Journ. fiir Ornith. (1876) p. 43.
Tockus semifasciatus, Sharpe, Ibis (1869) p. 192. sp. 41; id. Cat. Afr. Birds (1871) p. 9. sp. 70; Reich. Journ. fiir
Ornith. (1875) p. 13.
Hab. Senegambia to the Gaboon (Schlegel) ; Fantee (Ussher) .
Although closely resembling the T. fasciatus, the present bird may always be distinguished
from it by having the two lateral rectrices next the outermost ones black on their basal half,
instead of being white for their entire length. The geographical distribution of the two species
is very similar. Of the habits and economy of the present one I have not found any thing recorded.
Bill. — maxilla for half its length from the point, tip of mandible, and a line along the com-
missure, running downwards towards the base, black ; rest of bill bright yellow ; the maxilla is
much swollen at base, and rises into a low crest with a deep lateral groove on each side, descending
rapidly towards the tip. Head, neck, back, wings, and flanks black, with a greenish gloss on back
and wings. Tail black, with a greenish gloss, the two lateral rectrices next to the outermost one
white for nearly the apical half of their length.
Total length 18-J inches, wing 9J, tail 10 ; bill 3J-, height at base 1J.
Specimen figured is in the collection of the Paris Museum.
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TOCKUS FLAVIROSTRIS.
YELLOW-BILLED HORNBILL.
Buceros flavirostris, Rupp. Faun. Abyss. (1835) vol. i. p. 6, tab. 2. fig. 2; O. R. Gray, Gen. Birds (1849) vol ii
p. 400. sp. 36; Pinsch & Hartl. Reis. Ost-Afr. (1867) p. 490; Ayres, Ibis (1871) p. 260. .p. 128; Schie*
Mns. Pays-B. (1862) p. 14; Von Heugl. Jonrn. fur Ornith. (1864) p. 271 ; Finseh, Trans. Zool. Soc vol vfi
p. 279 ; Giebel, Thesaur. Ornith. (1872) p. 498.
Tockus flavirostris, Bon. Consp. Gen. Av. (1850) p. 92. sp. 12; id. Consp. Vol. Anisod. (1854) p 3- Horsf &
Moore, Cat. B. Mns. E.-Ind. Co. (1856-8) vol. ii. p. 596. sp. 877; Gurney, Anderss. Birds of Damara Land
(1872) p. 210; G. R. Gray, Hand-1. Birds (1870) pt. ii. p. 129. sp. 7894; Sharpe, Cat. Afr. Birds, no 77 ■
Rupp. Syst. Uebers. Vog. N.O.-Afr. (1845) p. 79. sp. 324; Layard, B. of S. Afr., Sharpe's ed. (1875) p. 130*
sp. 121.
Toccus elegans, Hartl. Proc. Zool. Soc. (1865) p. 86, pi. iv.j Bocage, Journ. Sc. Math. Lisb. (1868) vol. ii p 347
sp. 99.
Toccus flavirostris, Barb, du Bocage, Journ. Sc. Math. Lisb. torn. iii. (1871) p. 270. sp. 16.
Tockus elegans, Bocage, Journ. Sc. Math. Lisb. torn. i. (1866) p. 335.
Hab. Abyssinia, Namaqualand, Damaraland (Andersson) ; Transvaal (Ayres) ; Kuruman, Kanye (Eyton).
This bird has a very wide distribution, having been obtained from Abyssinia on the east to
Damaraland on the west ; and probably it will be found throughout the interior as our knowledge
of the African avifauna is increased by future explorers. It is a well-marked bird, and conspi-
cuous for its broad yellow bill. Hartlaub redescribed it in the < Proceedings ' of the Zoological
Society as T. elegans, from specimens obtained by Monteiro. Andersson states that it is the most
common of the Hornbills in Middle and Southern Damaraland. It is not gregarious, but is seen
singly or in pairs, and, being rather fearless, is easily approached, especially during the heat of the
day. At such times it resorts to the top of some tree, and keeps up a subdued chattering note of
" toe, toe, tocke tbche, tbeke toe," in a tone not unlike the yelpings of young puppies, at the same
time napping its wings and bowing its head. He says that in adult birds there is a considerable
difference of size ; the irides are yellow, legs and toes very dark brown. Speke states that this
species is common in the Somali country, where it is fond of being in the jungle-trees, and is
very noisy about sunrise, making a sound not unlike that of a frog.
Adult.— Bill much curved, no casque ; upper part of maxilla much compressed laterally ;
orange-yellow, except along the commissure and tips, which are reddish brown. Top of head and
neck dark leaden grey. Over the eye a broad white stripe. Throat and side of neck bare, yellow.
Back brownish black, a line of white down the centre. The feathers of upper part of breast and
wing-coverts are black, with a conspicuous white blotch near the tip. Secondaries light rufous-
brown on the three innermost ones ; next two white, irregularly marked with blackish brown ;
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remainder brownish black, as are also the primaries, the last having a small white spot upon both
webs midway of their length. Underparts pure white. Tail has four central rectrices brownish
black, remainder white, with black base and black bar near the tip ; the outermost feather nearly
all white, with very little black at the base ; the white is very much less on the second ; and
on the third the black of the base extends upwards for more than half the length of the feather.
Iris yellow. Total length without bill 16 inches, wing 7, tail 8-J, bill along gape 3-j-, tarsus 1.
There is no difference in the plumage of the sexes. Young birds often have very dark bills.
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TOCKUS HEMPRICHII
HEMPKICH'S HOENBILL.
Bhmtm faayrfeMi, Ehrenb. Symb. Phys. Av. (1828) fol. a a; Pinsch, Trans. Zool. Soc. (1869) vol vii „ 317-
Dresser & Blanf. Ibis (1874) p. 338. . '
Akmtm IMafef, Riipp. Paun. Abyss. (1835) vol. i. p. 5, tab. 2. fig. 1 • G. R. Gray, Gen. Birds (1849) vol ii
p. 400. sp. 35; Sehleg. Mus. Pays-B. (1862) p. 13; Von Heugl. Journ. for Ornitb. (1864) p. 270; Finsch
Trans. Zool. Soc. (1869) vol. vii. p. 279; Giebel, Thes. Ornitb. (1872) p. 500.
Toehu limbatus, Riipp. Syst. Uebers. Vog. N.O.-Afr. (1845) p. 79. sp. 325; Bon. Consp. Gen. Av. (1850) p. 92.
sp. 11 ; Horsf. & Moore, Cat. B. Mus. E.-Ind. Co. (1856-8) vol. ii. p. 596. sp. 879.
Grammicus limbatus, Bon. Consp. Vol. Anisod. (1854) p. 3.
Lophoceros limbatus, Cab. Mus. Hein. (1859-60) p. 168. sp. 6 (note).
Toccus hempricMi, Blanf. Geol. & Zool. Abyss. (1870) p. 326; Salvad. Cat. Uccelli Mare Rosso e dei Bogos p 54
(417).
Hab. Abyssinia, Senafe (Jesse).
This species was first described by Ehrenberg {L c.) as Buceros hempricMi. This has been
referred to the B. {Lophoceros) nasutus by authors ; but Messrs. Dresser and Blanford, having
examined the type in the Berlin Museum, stated in < The Ibis,' 1874, that it was the same as
the B. limbatus, Riippell, described some seven years afterwards. Of course this last will have to
become a synonym of the older name. It may be as well to remark that Mr. Blanford, in his
'Geology and Zoology of Abyssinia' (1870), had already stated that this species was the B. hemprichi
of Ehrenberg. The latter' s type was obtained in Abyssinia. It is a fine bird, rather large for the
genus compared with the other members, and has not been met with, so far as I am aware,
beyond the borders of Abyssinia. Cabanis and Heine, in their list of the Bucerotidse in the
Museum Heineanum, include the present species in Lophoceros; but as it has not like the
members of that genus an elevated casque, it should not be placed with them.
Bill rather long, curved, compressed laterally, deep red. Head, neck, upper part of breast
and back blackish brown. Wings black, margined with white. Underparts pure white. Tail
blackish brown, the two lateral rectrices next to the outermost ones pure white. Iris brown.
Total length 22 inches, wing 12, tail 11J, bill 5|.
The naked space on the sides of the throat, according to Roth's notes in Horsfield and
Moore's Catalogue of Birds, is black in the male and yellow in the female. With this exception
both sexes are alike.
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TOKUS MONTEIRI
TOCKUS MONTEIRI.
MONTEIEO'S HOENBILL.
Toccus monteiri, Hartl. Proc. Zool. Soc. (1865) p. 87, pi. 5.
Tockus monteiri, Gum. in Anderss. Birds of Damara Land (1872) p. 208; Sharpe, ed. Lay. B. of S. Afr (1875)
p. 129. sp. 120.
Buceros monteiri, G. R. Gray, Hand-1. Birds (1870) part ii. p. 130. sp. 7900; Giebel, Thesaur. Ornith. (1872)
p. 501.
Hab. Damara Land (Andersson) ; Benguela, Angola (Monteiro).
This species is but little known, as it appears to be a rare bird even in its own country.
It was described by Hartlaub (I. c.) from specimens obtained by Mr. Monteiro in Benguela, West
Africa. It has also been procured by Andersson in Damara Land. A great difference exists in
the size of the bill between the male and female, that of the latter being quite small in
comparison with that of her mate.
Mr. Monteiro, in his work on Angola and the river Congo, states : — " The Toccus elegans
(T. flavirostris) and the T. monteiri are very odd birds in appearance and habits. I found that
their food consisted of grubs, grasshoppers, and other insects, hornets' nests and hard seeds.
They dig in the sand with their long curved bills when seeking their food, throwing the sand
behind them with their legs. They look very comical when sitting on a tree, their soft feathers
puffed out like those of an Owl ; and they raise and depress their crest-feathers, uttering loud,
long-drawn, unearthly cries, like the squall of a sick baby. 5 ' He goes on to say that the natives
state that the female imprisons the male in a hollow of some tree, and obliges him to hatch out
the eggs, thus reversing the habits of the other species of this family, and of most families
generally. He endeavoured to verify this statement, and offered a large reward for a nest ; but
the natives were unable to discover one for him. It would seem probable that they had mistaken
the sex, although the great difference in the size of the bill between the sexes of T. monteiri would
cause either to be readily identified even at a considerable distance.
According to Andersson this species is not common in Damara Land, where it is generally
found in pairs, though occasionally half a dozen may be seen in proximity to each other. Being
shy, it is a difficult bird to approach, except in hot weather. It perches on the tops of trees, but at
the slightest alarm betakes itself to flight, seldom, however, going far at a time, and progresses by
dipping and rising alternately like a Woodpecker. He had often found much gravel in the
stomach, and flushed it frequently from the ground, whither it resorts to pick up sand as well
as food.
Adult jlfafe.— Bill very long, curved, yellowish red, turning to dark purple near the tip. A
deep groove runs along the entire length of the maxilla, following the curve of the culmen, which
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is compressed laterally. Head and cheeks light grey, darkest on the edges of the occiput. Throat
and breast plumbeous, each feather with a central streak of black. Wing light brown, a round
white spot on the tip of each feather; innermost secondaries light brown, remainder white;
primaries black, a white spot midway on the webs, and the tips slightly margined with white.
Back and rump dark brown. Underparts and thighs pure white. The tail has the four central
rectrices blackish brown, next one white for half its length from the tip, remaining ones pure
white. Iris nut-brown. Eeet and tarsus horn-colour. Total length without bill 17 inches;
wing 8J; tail 10 ; bill along culmen 5^ ; tarsus 2.
The female resembles the male; but her bill is much shorter and more feeble, averaging
only 3 J inches.
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JUNGLE GEET HOBNBUL
Grey Hornbill, Lath. Gen. Syn. (1787) Supp. p. 72.
BucerosgrUeus, Lath. Ind. Ornith. (1790) vol. i. p. 147; Shaw, Gen. Zool. (1811) vol. vni. p. 40- Viefll Nonv
Diet. Hist. Nat. (1816) vol. iv. p. 594; Dnmont, Diet. Se. Nat. (1817) p. 212; Vieill. Eney. Meth. (1823,
vol. i. p. 307; Less. Trait. Ornith. (1831) p. 252. sp. 3; Gray, Gen. Birds (1849) vol. ii. p. 400. sp. 37; Sehle^
Mns. Pays-B. (1862) p. 11 ; Gray, Hand-1. B. (1870) pt. ii.p. 131. sp. 7917; Giebel, Thesanr. Ornith. (1872)
Buceros cinerascens, Temm. Plan. Col. vol. ii. (text) ; Gray, Gen. Birds (1849) vol. ii. p. 400. sp. 31.
To ckus griseus, Bon. Consp. Gen. Av. (1850) p. 91. sp. 3.
Rhinoplax griseus, Bon. Consp. Vol. Anisod. (1854) p. 3.
Toccus gingalensis, Jerd. B. Ind. (1862) vol. i. p. 250 (partim)
Toccus griseus, Bonrdillon, Str. Feath. (1876) vol. iv. p. 387.
Kaldal-haki, Can., Chalotra, Hindoostanee (Jerdon).
id. Ibis (1866) p. 350, (1872
Hab. Malabar.
This is the species described by Latham (I. c.) and mentioned by Jerdon in his < Birds of
India ' as Toccus gingalensis. It is apparently quite a common bird in the localities it frequents ;
and the following extract from Dr. Jerdon' s work sufficiently indicates the habits of the species.
He says : — The " Jungle Grey Hornbill is found in the forests of Malabar and Ceylon. I have seen
it nowhere else than in Malabar ; and it is most abundant perhaps in the extreme south, in Tra-
vancore and in Ceylon. Its food consists of fruit of various kinds. It is rather a shy bird, is
found singly or in pairs, occasionally in small parties, has a harsh call like the others, and is
said to breed in the same way."
Ceylon, mentioned above as a habitat of this bird, is incorrect, as it is not found there, but
is represented by the allied species T. gingalensis, Jerdon having confounded the two together.
Mr. Bourdillon, who procured this species in the Travancore hills, says it is very common in
heavy jungle at an elevation of from 1000 to 3000 feet. Its flight is rapid and easy ; and the bird
is very shy, and has a very ludicrous call, reminding one of a Punch-and-Judy show. The male
had bright red irides ; and a supposed female, in the Trevandrum Gardens, had pale-grey irides.
Mr. Hume remarks that females procured in the Wynaad and on the Cardamon hills only differ
in being paler and duller above and below, have less of the green gloss, and only three pairs of the
rectrices are tipped with white. " The young bird," he continues, " has the irides dirty yellow ;
the bill is entirely pale yellow and smaller, and not overspread with the reddish brown tint of the
adult, and has a black patch at the base of the lower mandible, and another on the basal portion
of the culmen."
IS - > -* aa5
*J
Bill strong, curved, culmen slightly swollen. Basal half pale red, becoming yellowish at tip,
and black along the commissure. Top of head, back of neck, and back dark ashy-grey, each feather
with a central white streak. Superciliary stripe pale greyish-brown. Front of neck and underparts
dark grey, each feather with a central streak of greyish white. Primaries black, with an inch and
a half of their tips white, and a white line on the central part of the edge of the outer webs. Secon-
daries black, broadly edged with grey on their outer webs. Bectrices black, margined with dark grey,
the three outermost ones white for about two inches of their tips. Iris bright red. Feet dark grey.
Length 22 inches, wing 8 J, tail 8|, bill 4^, height at base 1-J-.
Female. — Has the plumage like the male ; the bill, however, is yellow, with the exception of
the basal two thirds of the culmen, spot on lower edge of maxilla at base, and base of mandible, all
of which are black.
The specimens figured and described were kindly loaned to me by Lord Tweeddale, to whom
I desire to express my thanks.
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TOCKUS GINGALENSIS
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TOCKUS GINGALENSIS.
CEYLONESE GB.1T EOENBILL.
Le Calao gingala, Le Vaill. Ois. Bares cPAmer. (1801) pi. 23.
Buceros gingala, Wilkes? Ency. Lond. (1808) vol. iii. p. 480.
Buceros gingalensis, Shaw, Gen. Zool. (1811) vol. viii. p. 37 ; Erseh u. Grub. Ency. (1821) p 282 • Temm Plan
Col. (1824) vol. ii. p. 17; G. E. Gray, Gen. Birds (1849) vol. ii. p. 400. sp. 30; Blyth, Cat. Birds Mus. Asiat'.
Soc. (1849) p. 44. sp. 184; Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. (1854) vol. xiii. p. 260; Sckleg. Mus. Pays-B
(1862) p. 12; Gray, Hand-1. Birds (1870) pt. ii. p. 131. sp. 7918; Giebel, Tkes. Ornith. (1872) p. 499
Buceros gingala, Vieill. Nouv. Diet. Hist. Nat. (1816) vol. iv. p. 600 ; Dnmont, Diet. Sc. Nat. (1817) vol. vi. p. 214.
Buceros pyrrhopygus, Wagl. Syst. Av. (1827) sp. 18.
Tockus gingalensis, Bon. Consp. Gen. Av. (1850) p. 91. sp. 4; Blyth, Ibis (1867) p. 296; Holdsw. Proc Zool Soc
(1872) p. 425 ; Legge, Ibis (1874) p. 14.
Rhinoplax gingalensis, Bon. Consp. Vol. Anisod. (1854) p. 3.
Buceros (Penelopides) gingalensis, Von Mart. Journ. fur Ornith. (1866) p. 18.
Toccus gingalensis, Jerd. Ibis (1872) p. 5. sp. 145.
Hab. Ceylon, never Bengal (Blyth).
The name of Buceros gingala was given to this species in the < Encyclopedia Londinensis/
founded upon Le Vaillant's plate in his < Oiseaux Bares d'Amerique et des Indes.' As the author
of the ornithological part of the publication is not certainly known, the name cannot stand ; and
therefore that of Shaw, who described the bird as B. gingalensis, is the one that has priority.
The Ceylonese Grey Hornbill has been more fortunate than many of its relatives ; for as most
writers have employed Shaw's name, there is not much confusion in its synonymy. It is restricted
to Ceylon, never having been found in Bengal, according to Blyth. My friend the late Dr. Jerdon,
in his i Birds of India/ confounded the species with its Indian ally, and spoke of both birds as T.
gingalensis. In ' The Ibis ' for 1872, p. 5, however, he corrected this error. In size and appear-
ance the two birds are not unlike, the chief differences between them being found, as is the case
with several allied species of Hornbills, in the markings and coloration of the tail-feathers.
Layard states that " the Lesser ( Hornbill ' is common in the Wanny about Anarajahpoora and
in the Mookalane jungles of the southern provinces. It feeds, on the tops of the loftiest trees, upon
fruits and berries, which it swallows whole. It is a wary and shy bird ; and although its presence
is often revealed by its loud harsh call, it rarely falls before the hunter's gun ; and the best way to
procure it is to lie concealed near a tree in fruit, if it be such as it feeds upon. The hides are
reddish, and when partly hidden by the long stiff black eyelashes have a very peculiar appearance.
In some specimens the bill is white, with a black patch extending from the naked space round
the eye about three fourths of an inch along the lower half of the upper mandible ; the bill is 3f
inches long. The three outer tail-feathers are white, the fourth half black from the quill, the fifth
black. The head has a rufous tinge.
" In other specimens the head wants the rufous tinge, the first tail-feather is white, with the
outer shaft black up two thirds of its length, and slightly tinged up one third of the inner web ;
second and third feathers black on both sides up two thirds of their length ; fourth black up to
an inch from the top ; fifth black altogether. This species (?) is found in the southern provinces
about the base of the hills ; the former in the Anarajahpoora Wanny."
Lieut. Legge states, "This species ranges from the highest down to the lowland forests,
frequenting the tallest trees in them, and is more numerous in the latter than in the mountains
or in any part of Cey]on that I have as yet explored."
Male. — Bill greenish white, becoming brownish at base. Head crested, feathers moderately
long, dark brown, with a white central line. Back of neck and upper parts brownish grey. Wings
light leaden grey, each feather margined with black. Primaries greenish black, the second, third,
fourth, and fifth tipped with white ; secondaries greenish black, the outer webs margined with
leaden grey. Throat, breast, and abdomen buffy white, becoming dark buff on the lower part of
abdomen and under tail-coverts. Tail greenish black, the three outermost rectrices having their
apical third pure white, the one next the central pair tipped with white. Irides reddish brown.
Total length without bill, average 19^ inches ; wing 8, tail 10, bill along culmen 3, tarsus 1 J.
Female like the male in the plumage, but has the bill black, with a yellowish-white line oc-
cupying the lower half of the maxilla along the commissure and reaching to within an inch of the
tip.
I am indebted to the Marquis of Tweeddale, who kindly loaned to me from his collection the
specimens from which my figures and descriptions were taken.
mmam
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■NMpiMMnjvvvvvv
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J. G.Keul emails lith.
TOCKUS ERYIHRORHYNCHUS
Hank art imp.
36 r
TOCKUS ERYTHEORHYNCHUS
RED-BILLED HOENBILL
Calm a bee rouge du Senegal, Buff. Plan. Enlum. (1783) no 260
Bueeros nasutus, var. B, Gmel. S yst . Nat. (1788) p. 361 ; Lath. Ind. Ornith. (1790) vol i p 145
Le Calao Toe, Le VaiU. Hist. Nat. Ok. d'Afriq. (1806) vol. v. p. 122, pi 238 ' '
Bueeros nasutus, Vieill. (nee Linn.) Ency. Meth. (1823) vol. i. p. 305, pi 10 fig 3
Bueerosjytkrorkynekus, Ten™ .Han. Col. (1824) vol. ii. S p. 19 (text); Erseh n. Grnh. Eney. (1824) p. 284; Wagl.
v i d ( Zr T ait - 0mith - (1831) p - 353 - sp - x > Thom - **■ Ni ^> *■ i I *> 4,
Gen. Bn-ds (1849) vol. u. p. 400. sp. 34; Hartl. Ornith. West-Afr. (1857) p. 165; Sehleg. Mns. Pays^
(1862) p. 14; Layard, B. of S. Afr. (1867) p. 227; Finseh n. Hartl. Eei S . Ost-Afr. (1867) p. 491 ; Avres
Ibie (1869) p. 296; Finseh, Trans. Zool. Soe. (1869) vol. vii. p. 278; Giebel, Thesanr. Ornith. (1872) p. 498 '
Bueeros (Alophius, non Schonh. 1826, Coleopt.) erythrorhynehus, var. leueopareus, Hemp. & Ehrenh. Sym.Phys. Av.
Dec. fol. aa, note 1.
Bueeros leueomelas, Licht. Verz. Saugeth. und Vog. (1842) p. 17; Gray, Hand-L B. (1870) pt. ii. p. 130
sp. 7895.
ToeJcus erythrorhynehus, Eiipp. Syst. Ubers. Vog. N.O.-Afr. (1845) p. 79. sp. 322; Bon. Consp. Gen. Av. (1850)
p. 92. sp . 10; id. Consp. Vol. Anisod. (1854) p. 3; Hartl. Jonrn. fiir Ornith. (1854) p. 193; Horsf. & Moore,
Cat. Birds Mus. E.I. Co. (1856-8) vol. ii. p. 575. sp. 876; von Hengl. Journ. fiir Ornith. (1864) p. 271 ; Kirk,
Ibis (1864) p. 327; Bocage, Journ. Sc. Math. (1866) p. 335. sp. 33, (1868) vol. ii. p. 348. sp. 101; Gray'
Hand-1. Birds (1870) pt. ii. p. 129. sp. 7893; Gnrney, Anderss. Bv Damara L. (1872) p. 211; Sclat. Rev. List
Vert. Anim. (1872) p. 172; Salvad. Uccelli, Mar. Kosso e di Bogos, p. 54 (1874); Layard, B. of S. Afr.,
Sharpens ed. (1875) p. 131. sp. 122; Bocage, Ornith. Angola (1878) p. 120.
Bueeros rufirostris, Sundev. Ofvers. Kongl. Vetensk. Akad. Forh. (1850) p. 108.
Bueeros erythrorhynehus, var. caffer, Sundev. Ofvers. Kongl. Vet. Akad. Forh. (1850) p. 50; Von Heugl. Ibis (1859)
p. 343. sp. 58.
ToeJcus pcecilorhynchus, Bon. Consp. Gen. Av. (1850) p. 91. sp. 9.
Rhynchoceros erythrorhynehus, Cab. & Hein. Mus. Hein. (1860) Th. ii. p. 166. sp. 1.
Rhynchoceros leucomelas, Cab. & Hein. Mus. Hein. (1860) Th. ii. p. 166. sp. 2.
Toccus erythrorhynehus, Buckley,Ibis (1874) p. 365.
KicumUandondo in Angola (Anchieta) .
Hab. Senegambia to Sennaar (Schlegel) ; Damaraland, Ondonga, Okovango river, Lake Ngami (Andersson);
Zambesi region (Kirk); Angola (Anchieta).
This is a well-known bird, and has received many appellations, as a glance at the above list of
synonyms will testify. Its range is very extensive, quite across the African continent from Sennaar
» *■ * *■ ^ «•
on the east to Damaraland on the west. Sundevall gives it as a native of Caffraria ; Layard says
he had not heard of it there, hut had received it in considerable numbers from the Zambesi;
Kirk states that the native name for "this species is "Kope," and that they are common in all
woodland districts, feed on fruit and insects, and breed in hollow trees. Andersson, in his
6 Notes on the Birds of Damara Land,' edited by Mr. Gurney, speaks of the differences observable
in the plumage of this species from separate localities, for one of which Sundevall proposed a
specific name.
He says " This species is common in Ondonga, at Okovango River, and for some distance to
the south of that stream ; and I have also obtained specimens from Lake Ngami. I have also met
with it in Damara Land proper, at Objimbinque and Schmelen's Hope ; but specimens from these
two last-named localities differ considerably from those found in more northern parts. Thus in the
former the whole of the underparts, the forehead, a broad band under the eyes continued down
the sides of the neck, the ears, cheeks, chin, and throat are of a uniform silky white ; whilst in the
more northern bird the colour of these parts, as well as of the breast, is mingled with blackish grey,
and there is also less white about the wings and tail. This Hornbill is frequently seen
searching for food upon the ground ; and the way in which it swallows some kinds of food is
peculiar, raising its head and pitching the morsel into the air, receiving it again into its bill,
and repeating the process several times, perhaps with the object of softening the food or reducing
it to a pulp."
It is difficult to say what causes the variation in the plumage spoken of by the author in the
specimens from Objimbinque and Schmelen's Hope. I have examined examples from both these
localities, and do not consider that I should be justified in recognizing two species of them. Prof.
Sundevall has regarded the bird with grey cheeks as the Caffrarian race, and proposed the term
rufirostris for it ; I have not adopted his name, as it does not appear to me to be necessary to make
a specific distinction between the forms. The late M. Jules P. Yerreaux, as quoted by Mr. Gurney,
considered that there is only one species, and that the pure white cheeks are assumed only in the
nuptial season. This is very possibly the fact.
In 1828 Ehrenberg proposed the term AZophius, as a subgenus, for this species. But in 1826
Schonherr gave the same name to a genus of Coleoptera; and as this has been generally employed
in Entomology, it cannot be adopted for this bird and its allies.
Adult. — Bill curved, "no casque, maxilla deep red, much compressed laterally along the culmen.
The mandible for two thirds its length from the base is very dark red, almost black, remainder like
the maxilla. Upper part of head and neck leaden-grey. A white superciliary stripe extends along
the side of the head and down the neck. Cheeks and neck beneath the white band leaden-grey
mingled with white ; in some specimens these parts are pure silky white. Wings blackish brown,
each feather broadly tipped with white. Innermost secondaries light brown, next two blackish,
broadly tipped and marked with white ; remainder black margined with white. Primaries black,
first two spotted midway with white on inner web, next four on both webs, remainder uniform
black. Entire underparts pure white. The tail has the two median feathers brownish black, next
LJ
on either side jet-black ; remainder black, broadly tipped with white, the outermost being all white,
with the exception of a short distance from the base (chiefly on the inner web) and a narrow bar on
the apical third part. Iris light yellow.
Total length without the bill 16 inches, wing 8, tail 9, bill along gape 3.
There is no difference in the plumage of the sexes. The female is a little smaller, with a
shorter bill.
The description and figures were taken from specimens in my own collection.
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TOCKUSLECKENI
H anli art imp.
TOCKUS DECKENI.
VON DEE DECKEN'S HOENBILL.
^loD/j p. 4oy.
itocmw (Tbcfo*) dtefeni, G. R. Gray, Hand-1. Birds, (1870) pt. ii. p. 130. sp. 7896.
Rhynchoceros deckeni, Cab. Journ. fur Ornith. (1870) pi. 2.
Buceros deckeni, Giebel, Thesaur. Ornith. (1872) p. 498.
Hab. East Africa (Finsch & Haktlaub) ; Voi-Fluss (Taita), East Africa (Hildebrandt) .
This very distinct species was procured by Baron von der Decken during his journey into
Eastern Africa, and described by Einsch & Hartlaub {I. c). Its white cheeks, neck, and under-
pays make it impossible to be confounded with any other species of this genus. Nothing is
known of its economy or habits. The specimen described and figured is in the collection of my
friend Captain Shelley, who most kindly loaned it to me to be figured in this work.
Top of head and back black. Superciliary stripe, sides of the head, neck, stripe down
middle of the back, and underparts white, tinged with buff on throat and breast. Ear-coverts
grey. Primaries black, with an oblong white spot upon the outer web near the centre.
Secondaries black, edged with white, some of them pure white, with an irregular black mark
in the centre, the innermost ones brownish. Eour central rectrices greyish black, the next two
black for two thirds their basal length, with the remaining portions white ; the external rectrix
black for only one third the basal length, rest pure white. Bill deep red for half its basal
length, rest yellow, with the cutting-edges and tips brownish black. Maxilla has the basal
half covered by a scale, with slight horizontal grooves.
Total length 17J inches, bill on culmen 4, wing 7f, tail 9f, tarsus If.
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Hanhart imp .
TOCKUS HARTLAUBI
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TOCKUS HARTLAUBI.
EAETIAFB'S HOBNBILL.
Toccus hartlaubi, Gould, Proc. Zool. Soc. (1860) p. 380.
Buceros nagtglasii, Schleg. Neder. Tijdsch. voor de Dierk. (1862) vol. i. p. 56, pi. 2; id. Mus. Pays-B. (1862) p. 16;
Sclater, Ibis, (1863) p. 359, (1864) p. 398; G. R. Gray, Hand-1. Birds, (1870) pt. ii. p. 130. sp. 7904.
Tockus hartlaubi, Sharpe, Ibis, (1870) p. 485. sp. 182.
Hab. Gold Coast (Schlegel).
This is one of the most diminutive species of this family, and was described first by Mr.
Gould (I.e.). Afterwards Schlegel (I. c.) redescribed it as nagtglasii. These are the only names
that have been given to the bird. It is very distinct, and not to be confounded with any other
species. Thus far it has only been obtained on the Gold Coast.
Bill slate-colour, red at tip • culmen much compressed at base, and rising into a low keel-
like crest. Head black, a bare spot on cheek and throat, in dried skin yellow. Superciliary
stripe and feathers on the occiput white. Underparts dark grey, each feather tipped with silvery
white. Back greyish black. Wing dark green ; primaries dark purplish brown. Tail greenish
black, the outer rectrices tipped with white.
Total length 14 inches, wing 6, tail 7J, bill 2J, height at base 1.
The specimen described and figured is in the British-Museum collection.
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Hanhart imp .
TOCKUS CAMURUS
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TOCKUS CAMURUS
CASSIN'S PYGMY HOKNBILL,
Tockus camurus, Cassin, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. (1856) p. 319, (1859) p. 140. sp. 164; Heine, Journ. fiir Ornith.
(1860) p. 188. sp. 146; Reich. Journ. fiir Ornith. (1875) p. 13.
Buceros pulchrirostris, Schlegel, Soc. Nat. Art. Mag. Amster.; id. Ned. Tijds. voor d. Dierk. vol. i. (1862) p. 74,
pi. 4, Ois. ; id. Mus. Pays-Bas, (1862) p. 15 ; G. E. Gray, Hand-1. Birds, pt. ii. (1870) p. 130. sp. 7903.
Tockus pulchrirostris, Sharpe, Ibis, (1870) p. 485. sp. 181; id. Proc. Zool. Soc. (1871) p. 604. sp. 8; Reich. Journ.
fur Ornith. (1875) p. 13.
Buceros camurus, G. R. Gray, Hand-1. Birds, pt. ii. (1870) p. 130. sp. 7905 ; Giebel, Thesaur. Ornith. vol. i. (1872)
p. 497.
Hab. Gold Coast (Schlegel) ; Cape Lopez (Du Chaillu).
Mr. Cassin first described this species in the 'Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences'
in 1856 ; and it was subsequently renamed pulchrirostris by Schlegel in the ' Nederlandsch Tijd-
schrift ' for 1862. Mr. Cassin's type was obtained by Du Chaillu near Cape Lopez, in Western
Africa, and sent with other rare and new birds to Philadelphia. Mr. Cassin remarks of this
species that it " is the smallest bird of the genera JBuceros and Toclcus that I have ever seen, and
appears to be the smallest known species. It resembles in some measure T. melanoleucus,
but is much smaller. Three specimens are in the collection, essentially alike."
Bill bright red ; maxilla greatly compressed laterally ; culmen elevated into a low crest.
Head, breast, and back rufous brown. Wings dark brown, lesser and greater coverts tipped with
white, forming two rows. Primaries brownish black, with an oval buff spot about the centre on
both webs ; secondaries blackish brown, broadly margined with deep buff. Tail dark olive-brown,
shafts and edges of webs and tips rufous brown. Underparts white. Feet dark brown.
Total length 12£ inches, wing 6, tail 6f , bill 2J.
Specimen figured is in the British-Museum collection.
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